The Last Gold: Discus king James Wong shares his triumph over cancer in book

SINGAPORE – For a brief period in the early 1990s, Singaporean thrower James Wong spent time on the field running and tackling, instead of hurling a discus into the distance.

The towering 1.91m athlete dabbled in American football while studying at the Mt San Antonio College in California in an attempt to secure a scholarship.

This was after the Singapore Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA) and the Singapore Sports Council – now known as Singapore Athletics and Sport Singapore respectively – withdrew his scholarship support following a disappointing outing at the 1991 SEA Games.

Touted as a gold medal hopeful, he came home empty-handed from Manila, after clinching a discus bronze and silver at the 1987 and 1989 editions respectively.

With six months till his graduation from college, Wong, who still had the support of one corporate sponsor, was determined to remain in the United States, where he was also training.

While his stint in American football was short-lived, it demonstrated his grit and determination to succeed.

He recalled: “I tried that year because I had no choice because my scholarship was cut so I wanted to give it a try, maybe I’ll succeed because I saw some foreigners who played in the league. The whole experience taught me about the game but the bottom line is, the game is not for me, throwing discus was still better for me. After I gave it up, I focused on the SEA Games.”

At the next SEA Games in 1993 on home ground, Wong finally claimed the coveted gold, along with a silver in the hammer event, paving the way for a medal-laden career. He became one of South-east Asia’s best, winning 10 gold medals – nine in discus and one in hammer.

The highs and lows he experienced as an athlete prepared him for his biggest battle when he was diagnosed with bile duct cancer (Stage 2) in January 2023.

His journey and his cancer battle are documented in his book, The Last Gold, which was launched at the Singapore Sports Hub’s Black Box Auditorium on Dec 14.

In front of a packed auditorium that included his wife Jana Lauren, children Jessica and Jordan, as well as Singapore sprint legend C. Kunalan, current and former athletics chiefs Lien Choong Luen and Tang Weng Fei, Wong candidly shared his experiences with the audience.

“I always like to share my sporting journey with the kids so that they’re motivated and they also understand challenges behind it,” said the 55-year-old, who retired in 2013.

“That was the intention, but when I happened to have cancer, it was also a good way to share with people that I’m only human, a gold medallist can also have cancer.”

The 260-page book written by former national sprinter Kenneth Khoo has raised $60,000 to date, with proceeds going towards supporting cancer organisations.

It details Wong’s life, drawing parallels between his athletic career – he had to deal with pressure and expectations, as well as support himself after clashes with SAAA officials – and overcoming cancer in the past two years.

Years of training helped him prepare for his surgery in February 2023, as he came up with a diet and exercise plan ahead of his procedure.

Khoo, 42, told The Sunday Times that their collaboration revealed a different side of his former teammate. He said: “What I always knew about James was the public facade – he was the multiple SEA Games champion and as a teammate, he’s not the kind of guy who shows weakness.

“He’s always stoic, he’s a champion with a winning mindset so this process really revealed a side of him that I never thought I would see, that vulnerability that he revealed, the emotions he had when he received his diagnosis.”

The Last Gold will be sitting on his shelf at home, alongside the multiple medals and winners’ mascots from the Games. But the most precious medal is not among the collection.

As he wrote in his book: “This (cancer) battle I faced over the past year will stand head and shoulders above all my other victories.

“This triumph will be worthy of my last dance in life – my last gold.”

Wong’s book can be purchased at all bookshops and donations can be made

here

.