SINGAPORE – In a bid to qualify Singapore for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), national short-track speed skater Ryo Ong took a gap year in 2022 and moved to South Korea to train.

For 12 months, the Singapore Sports School student, who was in Busan with his mother and teammates Brandon Pok and Keegen Chan, endured the cramped and mouldy conditions of his rented room. His efforts were rewarded when he earned Singapore a quota spot at the Jan 20-Feb 2 Winter YOG this week.

The 16-year-old said: “It’s a bittersweet feeling that I managed to represent my country and get a spot for Singapore. It’s a super long eight years’ training journey that has paid off.”

The teenager competed in the 2023 ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships from Jan 27-29, when he finished 27th out of 63 skaters.

A total of 72 quota spots – 36 each for men and women – were available, though the allocation was based on the International Skating Union’s overall special classification per gender that is created from the junior championships. As a result, he had to endure nearly a month’s wait to see if he had qualified Singapore for the Winter YOG in Gangwon.

On how he felt during the wait, Ryo said: “Slight nervousness in the anticipation, as I did my best. But I had another World Cup competition the following week, so I had to focus. And afterward, I finally moved back to Singapore and was trying to catch up with my Secondary 4 work, so there was not much time for emotions, really.”

This is the first spot that Singapore has confirmed at the upcoming Winter YOG. The Republic made its debut at the quadrennial event in 2020, when it had three representatives in Lausanne.

While Ryo may have earned Singapore the spot, he may not compete in Korea as that will be decided by the Singapore Ice Skating Association (Sisa) and Singapore National Olympic Council.

But Ryo is confident of booking his place, adding: “As long as I put in my best, I trust that my years of training and skills and experience acquired will put me in a good position of being selected.”

Sisa president Alison Chan lauded Ryo’s dedication, saying: “It is rewarding as the qualification system is more challenging this time round, where it requires the best ranking per country for all distances. Ryo has sacrificed school by taking a gap year, his efforts were not in vain as he has helped Singapore qualify a spot at this coming Winter YOG.”

Chan added that Ryo, who is taking his O levels this year, will continue training locally and have a short overseas training stint prior to the Games.

Ryo credited his stint in South Korea for instilling lessons that have helped him hone his skills over the past year. Over there, he trained twice daily from 5am-7am and 4.30pm-8pm under former South Korean short-track speed skater Lee Ho-eung, who won a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and two other coaches.

Ryo noted that Lee’s experience was a big help and that he is “really strict, but kind underneath”.

“Training with the other Korean skaters is so beneficial because they are a lot faster, with never-ending stamina. As long as we try to keep up and push ourselves, we managed to at least skate close to their speed,” he added.

“Koreans are very hardy people. Even if we crash or sprain an ankle, there was no excuse to rest... we have to turn up and exercise the other limbs. In turn, this becomes very valuable life lessons because you have to be resilient and mentally very strong during races.”