There are all manner of champions in our midst.

The white-haired, bespectacled lady you perhaps walked by in the mall yesterday has 39 SEA Games gold medals. One year in Myanmar, swimmer Patricia Chan arrived to compete and found a pool with algae in it. No problem. She had come to do her best and would negotiate whatever came her way.

Even as the 31st SEA Games have begun in Hanoi and Singaporeans look forward, there is also a joy in looking back. These Games are a tradition and today's modern heroes walk down the paths laid down by previous champions.

And so to celebrate the Games, we asked a section of Singapore's finest athletes to reflect on their most memorable moments: One took a pain-killing injection every day at the Games just to compete and another got his hand burnt while running with the torch. Every tale matters because each one is a thread in the tapestry of Singapore sport.

This five-part video series will run every three days on ST's sport page.