Singapore’s Amanda Yap sixth in Artistic Gymnastics World Championships final
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Singapore's Amanda Yap smiling after completing her balance beam routine at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Amanda Yap placed sixth with 13.333 points in the balance beam final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta.
- Yap juggled O-level exams with the competition, flying between Singapore and Jakarta, viewing it as a positive distraction.
- Inspired by the experience, Yap aims for a SEA Games beam medal and success at the 2026 Asian Games.
AI generated
SINGAPORE - Having already notched a “big accomplishment” in qualifying for the balance beam final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships
And she certainly did – the 15-year-old had a smile on her face throughout her routine at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, where she eventually placed sixth in the eight-athlete final with a personal best of 13.333 points.
China’s Zhang Qing-ying took gold with 15.166 points, while Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour and Japan’s Aiko Sugihara finished second and third after scoring 14.300 and 14.166 respectively.
Amanda told The Straits Times: “I really wanted to have fun, just being here in the finals was already such a big accomplishment. I tried my best, and I was very happy with the result.
“The first part of my routine I was still quite nervous.. trying to keep myself calm the whole way through. And I think overall, it was pretty okay. And I was very happy with my performance.”
Her senior debut at the world championships was made more challenging by a hectic schedule, as she is currently sitting for her O-level examinations.
On Oct 20, she took part in the balance beam qualification and flew back to Singapore the following afternoon for an O-level mathematics Paper 1 exam on Oct 22. After earning a historic berth at the championships – she is the first local gymnast to qualify for the final – she returned to Indonesia on Oct 25 right after taking another exam.
“It was quite crazy. I had exams just three, four hours ago, and I was still in Singapore. There were a lot of things going on”, said Amanda, who is flying back home on Oct 26 morning to continue with her exams the day after.
While the pressure of juggling a major competition with the O-levels can be stressful for athletes, that was not the case for Amanda.
She added: “It was a positive thing, in a way, because I didn’t have to focus so much. Instead of stressing over one thing, it was spread out, and I had time to think about the two different things that I had to do.”
She also savoured the experience of meeting some of the world’s best gymnasts, including her idol, Canada’s three-time Commonwealth Games champion Elsabeth Black, whom she noted was “really sweet” and “gave me lots of encouragement”.
“Being around all these big names is an accomplishment in itself, so I was really thankful for that. Watching them perform right in front of my eyes was very cool, so I learned a lot from them,” she said.
She is hopeful the lessons from Jakarta will help in her quest for a podium spot at the Thailand SEA Games in December, noting that “a beam medal would be the goal”.
And success on a bigger stage – the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan – is another goal, after the teenager placed third among the region’s gymnasts in the balance beam at the world championships.
She said: “I feel like it’s definitely shown me that I can do better than I expect. I really hope to be able to show my best self again next year. It’s given me the confidence to do better because now I know at least where I stand.”
