Double Olympic joy for Singapore as rower Saiyidah Aisyah and kayaker Stephenie Chen earn qualifying berths
Both have taken winding journeys to Paris Games, with Saiyidah coming out of retirement and Chen overcoming the agony of missing out in 2021
SINGAPORE — More than six years after a burnt-out Saiyidah Aisyah retired reluctantly from rowing in late 2017, she was instead celebrating on Sunday (21 April) after earning a quota spot for Singapore at the 2024 Paris Olympics amid her comeback to the sport.
The 36-year-old, who was the first Singapore rower to qualify for the Olympics in 2016, clocked 7min 59.05sec in the women's singles sculls event at the Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta at Tangeum Lake in Chungju, South Korea.
That placed her in sixth place, outside the top five spots that would have guaranteed her a place in the Paris Games. However, Japan's Shiho Yonekawa, who finished second, was not awarded a quota spot after her compatriots won two other events to take up Japan's Olympic berths at the qualifiers. Saiyidah was therefore handed the quota spot instead.
Saiyidah, who won a SEA Games rowing gold in Naypyidaw in 2013, decided to return to rowing late last year, in order to make another push for Olympic qualification. During her retirement period, she ran the Boston Marathon in 2019 and started a mental excellence coaching business.
Chen qualifies in third place in Tokyo
On Saturday, Asian Games silver medallist Stephenie Chen also earned Singapore an Olympics berth in canoeing/kayaking, as she came in third in the women's K1 500m race at the Asian canoe sprint Olympic qualifiers in Tokyo.
The 32-year-old clocked 2min 6.129sec, finishing behind China’s Zhang Luxi (2:02.328) and Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Shubina (2:04.043) to clinch the Olympic quota berth for Singapore.
She thus ended Singapore's 12-year absence in canoeing/kayaking at the Olympics, with Geraldine Lee being the last kayaker from to compete at the 2012 London Games. The Singapore Canoe Federation will reveal the selection criteria for the quota place at a later date.
Chen, who won a silver in the same event at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, had agonisingly missed out on qualification for two events for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, both by less than a second.
Singaporeans who have qualified for Paris Games
The other Singaporeans who have qualified for the Paris Olympics are:
sprinter Shanti Pereira (women’s 200m)
equestrienne Caroline Chew (individual dressage)
fencer Amita Berthier (women’s foil)
sailors Maximilian Maeder (kitefoiling) and Ryan Lo (men’s Laser)
swimmers Jonathan Tan (men’s 50m freestyle), Letitia Sim (women’s 100m breaststroke) and the women’s 4x100m medley relay team comprising Quah Ting Wen, Quah Jing Wen, Letitia and Levenia Sim.
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