SEA Games 2023: Faye Foo, mother of two, makes 'surreal' journey to cycling squad
Juggling work, family and sport, 39-year-old's sacrifices have paid off as she will take part in two events in Cambodia
SINGAPORE — She is a mother of two, and holds a headhunting job in the finance industry. And next month, cyclist Faye Foo is set to become a SEA Games athlete in Cambodia, as she makes her debut in the women's criterium and individual mass start races.
In the 39-year-old's own words, it has been a "surreal" journey from a recreational cyclist barely two years ago to being on the cusp of representing the nation at the biennial Games.
"I picked up cycling only during the COVID pandemic, when I was stuck at home and needed to keep myself fit," Foo told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Friday (14 April), during a Singapore Cycling Federation event at Singapore Sports Hub to announce the SEA Games squad.
"Then I joined the SCF women's academy in a pilot programme in 2021 to see how working professionals can start training. And being very competitive in nature, I really took the programme seriously and tried to do everything to the best of my abilities.
"And then all of a sudden, I'm in the SEA Games squad."
Amid the pride and joy of representing Singapore at the regional Games, Foo has had to make sacrifices in juggling her professional job, raising her two kids (aged six and eight), and training for competitions.
"I've kissed my social life goodbye," she quipped. "I go to bed at about 9pm, and then I'm awake at 4am for training. After training, I rush back home and go to work.
"Thankfully I have a supportive family, and a supportive employer, and I was able to be 100 per cent focused while training. That said, I'm really looking forward to our family holiday after the Games."
10 cyclists for SEA Games squad
Foo was among 10 cyclists announced for the Singapore SEA Games squad heading for the Cambodia Games from 5 to 17 May. They will head to Bintan for a three-week preparation before going to Phnom Penh.
Among the squad members are Calvin Sim, who won the men's omnium gold in Kuala Lumpur in 2017 and is competing in his fifth and final Games; Luo Yiwei, who won three silver medals in the past three Games; and Riyadh Hakim, who was Singapore's first gold medallist at the Asian Cycling Championships in 2019.
They will be taking part in the men's and women's criterium as well as individual mass start events, and SCF president Hing Siong Chen believes the squad is capable of winning a few medals.
SEA Games cycling team - Men: Calvin Sim, Tong Khoon Fung, Darren Lim, Riyadh Hakim, Yeo Boon Kiak. Arfan Faisal. Women: Chelsie Tan, Luo Yiwei, Elizabeth Liau, Faye Foo.
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