President Halimah Yacob commends Team Singapore athletes' performances in 2018
President Halimah Yacob paid tribute to Team Singapore national athletes, applauding their perseverance and fighting spirit as she hosted a dinner reception at the Istana for more than 200 sportspeople on Tuesday (26 March).
Singapore sent over 380 athletes to five major overseas Games in 2018 – the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, the Asian Games and Asian Para Games in Jakarta and Palembang, as well as the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
President Halimah commended them for attaining many personal bests and milestones. She highlighted speed skater Cheyenne Goh, who was the first Singaporean to take part in the Winter Olympics when she competed in the 1,500m short-track event.
She also commended the Asian Para Games contingent, who returned with their best-ever showing with three golds, two silvers and five bronzes. She singled out bowler Rex Tan, who suffered a serious accident four months before the Games, fracturing his ribs, fingers and shoulder. Yet he soldiered on through the pain to win a bronze at the Games.
“These are remarkable achievements, which were made possible because of the years of commitment, hard work and dedication that have gone into training towards sporting perfection,” President Halimah said in her speech to the athletes.
In her speech, she also thanked the “team behind the team” – the coaches, sports specialists, officials, care-givers, families and mentors – who supported the athletes in their training and development.
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