Gymnast Tamara Ong earns NTUC FairPrice Foundation scholarship after YOG gold
Singapore gymnast Tamara Ong, gold medallist at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires, received a sports scholarship worth more than $6,150 from NTUC FairPrice Foundation on Friday (29 March).
The 15-year-old was part of a 13-athlete, mixed-nation squad that came out tops in the multi-discipline team event. Tamara competed in the women’s artistic discipline, while her teammates took part in other disciplines such as acrobatic, rhythmic, men’s artistic and men’s/women’s trampoline.
Mixed-nation events are a special feature of the YOG, in a bid to build friendships among athletes. Their medals, however are not counted in a country’s overall medal count.
Studying and training in Melbourne
Tamara is studying and training in Melbourne, and was unable to receive the scholarship in person on Friday. She said in a media statement, “I am extremely grateful for this recognition and support. I’m planning to apply the scholarship towards covering my training costs for the year.
“Being among athletes who are all dedicated to their own sport (at the YOG) was relatable. Conversations were easy, despite language barriers and different sports. It has given me the impetus to be a better gymnast and I only wished that the competition allowed for more of my teammates to have had the same experience.”
Singapore Gymnastics’ general manager Karen Norden – who received the scholarship on Tamara’s behalf from NTUC FairPrice chief executive Seah Kian Peng, Singapore National Olympic Council president Tan Chuan-Jin and YOG chef de mission Tao Li – said that Tamara is a role model among her peers for taking ownership of her sporting career.
She added, “She liaises with us personally, and she is driven by her own ambition to succeed in the sport. It’s something we would like to see more among our young gymnasts.”
Back for June’s Singapore Open
Tamara will return home for June’s Singapore Open, before taking part in October’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart as well as December’s SEA Games in the Philippines.
The NTUC FairPrice Foundation Sports Scholarship is of cash value instead of cash, allowing its recipients to claim expenses such as school or tuition fees, purchase of training and competition equipment, travel costs to training camps and competitions, as well as coaching fees.
A total of 18 athletes represented Singapore in 10 sports at the Buenos Aires YOG in October last year. They returned with one gold medal, one national record and five personal-best performances.
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