Sailor Colin Cheng aims for top 10 finish in Rio Olympics
Laser Standard sailor Colin Cheng will represent Singapore for a second time at the Olympics this August in Rio. (Photo: Teng Kiat)
When he is not on the water, Colin Cheng enjoys playing a number of different sports including cycling, football, tennis, badminton, frisbee.
But there is no doubt where his strength lies. The Singaporean sailor, who finished as the top-ranked Asian in the Laser standard event at the 2012 London Olympics, will be headed to his second Games come this August.
It has not been an easy journey for the 26-year-old. Cheng was introduced to the sport by his father at when he was seven as an alternative to swimming.
The complexity of sailing was something he enjoyed and a challenge that still fascinates to this day.
“There's so many variables,” he told Yahoo Singapore. “You have to think about the waves, wind, the current, tactics, technique, boat speed and fitness. I've been sailing now for almost 20 years and there is still plenty more to learn.”
In 2010, Cheng moved overseas to Sydney to train with long-time coach, former Australian world champion Brett Beyer, as well as to start his Bachelor of Science degree in nanotechnology at the University of New South Wales.
He enjoyed trying to balance training and studies initially, which his father likened to doing a double degree. But it became difficult to juggle when overseas competitions started to take him away for weeks at a time, which left him constantly having to ask for extensions on assignment deadlines and not being able to take exams at the same time as his peers during his first 18 months in school.
Cheng decided he had to focus on his passion and took one and a half years off to train full-time before the London Olympics, and another two and a half years to do likewise for Rio.
“I think at the level we are at in this sport in sailing, it's almost doing a disservice to the Olympics and the people that support you if you're not trying to do your best at the Games and in this matter, I think going full-time is a pretty easy decision,” he explained.
Top 10 Olympic aim
Cheng’s passion has led him to represent Singapore at a second Olympics, having secured the Laser Standard slot over a year ago in September 2014 at the sailing world championships.
Describing his first Games as “eye-opening”, he singled out Race 8 where he was neck to neck with eventual champion Tom Slingsby as the highlight of his career.
This time, Cheng hopes to better his 15th place from London, having gained invaluable experience training under Beyer and in a “dynamic” team of sailors from countries like South Africa, Ireland and Norway.
“It's a different venue with unique challenges and I think it's a wide open field at this Olympics, so I think there's all to play for and anything can happen,” he said.
“I think I'll be very happy to finish in the top 10.”
Cheng is currently in the midst of a training camp at Guanaraba Bay to acclimatise to the difficult conditions. He will then fly back to Singapore to rest for around 10 days and depart for the Games proper on 25 July.
While he and Elizabeth Yin (Laser Radial) were only two Singaporean sailors competing in London, Cheng will be a “big brother” to eight other first-time Olympians this time.
“I think Elizabeth and I, having our second Olympics, will be a good factor; we can sort of share our experiences,” he smiled. “We are a close-knit community, so we will definitely be helping each other as much as we can and making sure everyone takes the most out of this experience.”
Limited family time
By the time Cheng completes his degree, he will have taken eight years to finish a four-year course. Cheng also only gets to come back to Singapore for around a month every year to be with family.
“The toughest part is that I don't get to eat my mum's cooking!” he chuckled. “I do feel that I would love to spend more time at home in Singapore, but at the end of the day this is what it takes to be an Olympic full-time athlete.”
Challenges during the sailing journey have made Cheng wiser and more grateful.
“I think the sport has taught me that there will be good and bad days, I've gone through a lot of bad days to recognise that this is part of the journey, it's never ever meant to be easy,” he reflected.
“I think it teaches you to look at the big picture and not to get caught up in the moment… I am in an extremely lucky position to be where I am, doing the thing that I love, and I just think life is good!”
