At the 2009 SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos, the team — made up of the quartet of Gary Yeo, Muhammad Elfi Mustapa, Lee Cheng Wei and Muhammad Amirudin Jamal — sprinted to an unexpected silver behind regional kingpins and Asian Games champions Thailand. In the process, they proved their critics wrong and reached several milestones, including breaking the 40-second barrier with a new national record of 39.82 seconds.

Two years later in Palembang, Indonesia, much was expected of the team of Calvin Kang, Amirudin, Cheng Wei and Gary as they lined up against strong opponents at the Jakabaring Athletics Stadium. In the end, they came very close to winning gold — but were just edged out by Indonesia. Both teams clocked 39.91 seconds, with hardly anything separating them.

Forward two more years to 2013 in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. The team’s silver streak continued as the quartet of Elfi, Calvin, Cheng Wei and Amirudin narrowly lost to Thailand in the final. Just like in 2011, the battle for gold was breathtakingly close as the Thais breasted the tape in 39.75 seconds, just ahead of the Singapore side.

Yet the story wasn’t just about the near misses. It was also about how the Singapore side made their mark as a team even though their individual times were not as impressive as those of their opponents.

In Vientiane, for instance, what stood out was the boys’ baton passing which allowed them to edge out the Indonesians. This was no small feat as Indonesia had the 100m and 200m champion Suryo Agung Wibowo in their line-up.

In Palembang, Singapore retained their silver despite fielding a quartet without relay captain Elfi, who was nursing a hamstring injury. The same determination enabled the team to win silver yet again in Naypidaw though Gary — the fastest runner among them — had to be sidelined.

Looking back at his boys’ near misses, coach Melvin Tan says he is proud of how they have bounced back from disappointment each time. “It is telling that our relay team in the last few years have featured these same few guys. They have all stayed focused even though there are so many things which can easily distract them.”

Of course, it will be great if their silver can turn to gold at the 2015 SEA Games on home soil. But for Gary, Elfi, Calvin, Cheng Wei and Amirudin, what matters most is that their explosive feats have fired the imagination of young boys — and girls.

Their hope is that many watching them will be inspired not just by their speed but also by their grit as they take on faster athletes not individually but as a team.

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At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, he just missed the cut for the 100m free final but bounced back to take the consolation final. At the 1986 World Championships in Madrid, Spain, he came agonisingly close to a medal in a field which included big American stars Tom Jager and Matt Biondi but his focus quickly turned to his next target – the 1988 Seoul Olympics. There he missed the final for his favourite event – the 50m free – and didn’t do as well as he expected in the consolation final. Yet he moved on – surely and bravely.

“Yes, there were high moments in my career. I feel good about them and still look back with pride and honour,” says the 53-year-old, adding that he is often humbled by the thought of how a simple chap who started training in a public pool (Farrer Park) under the guidance of his father could “go all over the world chasing dreams.” But some of the best take aways from sports, he says, have come more from the near misses and the accompanying disappointments. Experiencing failures gives one perspective, helping a high achiever to understand the struggles of other athletes.

Even if the end result is success, it is important to face obstacles in the journey. Which is why the three-time Sportsman of the Year – for all his international feats which brought swimming in Singapore to dazzling heights in the 1980s – still counts his gold in the men’s 50m free at the 1993 SEA Games on home ground as one of his high points. “Some may feel this was ‘just’ the SEA Games but this gold medal was very special. I was 31 and no longer in my prime. Yet I was trying to match the rising stars (like Indonesia’s Richard Sam Bera) and aiming for gold. All this took extra effort and going through the whole process was both humbling and empowering,” he says.

Looking back, one senses that Peng Siong could not have become the coach and mentor he is today if his career had just been about glorious moments. Like when he, at 18, won a sports scholarship to Houston University in the U.S. after being scouted at an international meet in Hawaii. Like when he sensationally became the world’s fastest man in the 50m free, clocking 22.69 seconds at the 1982 US National Championships in Indianapolis.

Indeed, his own encounters with failures – even if they were just blemishes in an otherwise brilliant career – have served him well as a coach. Swimmers he has groomed speak highly of his empathy despite his high standards and his patience with those who may not be as naturally gifted as himself. Tellingly, he has a special soft spot for our Paralympic swimmers and has guided the likes of Theresa Goh and Yip Pin Xiu to international success. It is little wonder that these swimmers and their families speak glowingly about this “fatherly coach” who is also confidant and team leader.

This is an accolade that sits well on Peng Siong. Afterall, any conversation with him about his career almost always inevitably starts and ends with the coaches in his life – including his father Ang Teck Bee, his coaches at ACS (Wee Moh Nam and Lenn Wei Ling) as well as his US mentor Phil Hansel who launched his international career.

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His score? A modest 233. It was good for sure but certainly nowhere near the scores one would associate with scholastic achievers. And Scott would be the first to insist he is no typical high flyer. Instead, he describes himself simply as a product of people who believe in him and bring out the best in him, whatever the level of his ability.

After his primary education, his parents, for instance, found him a school that would best fit him even though he had an offer from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) through the direct schools admissions scheme. This led him to the Singapore Sports School where “I found my true self” not only as an athlete but also a student.

Apart from training as a swimmer and then a triathlete, the self confessed “late bloomer” – who was weak at spelling and reading in his early years – made good academic progress. Eventually, he scored six distinctions in his O levels, and scored 44 out of 45 in his International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma examination at ACS(I), which he joined in Year 5.

Recalling the path he has chosen, the 22-year-old says, “If I had gone the traditional route of getting into a top school just because of prestige, I would have struggled in the company of super smart kids. Choosing a school which suited my abilities and interests, I was able to grow at my own pace, enjoy the learning process and excel.”

That is an understatement, considering he went on to represent Singapore as a triathlete at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and earn the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship as well as President’s Scholarship to study law at Cambridge University.

More importantly, his journey has given him unique experiences. Like when he, building on the leadership and confidence developed while at the Sports School, became student council president at ACS(I). Like when he was Singapore’s only representative in 2009 at the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Junior Camp and World Championships Junior race held in Australia’s Gold Coast.

Looking back at his various experiences, Scott says he has learnt much from them and grown stronger as a person. Taking the 2010 YOG in Singapore as an example, he notes, “That was just amazing. The feeling of competing in a world class field was very special. I learnt a lot simply by interacting with the other athletes. I saw first hand their remarkable drive, deep sense of purpose and strong desire to give their very best whatever the odds against them.”

These are traits that have served him well as an athlete, a student and, most importantly, a person. Add to them the quality which he feels describes him most – his willingness to embrace failure and learn from it. “I like to aim high and deal with the almost inevitable failure and disappointment. I’m not afraid of failure. It makes me stronger,” he says.

This profound belief in the need to confront failures explains his fascination with the story of swimming legend Michael Phelps. “Like many fans, I was impressed when he won eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But what blew me away even more was that he had the audacity to declare openly his intention to win those gold medals before the competition. And he knew every single gold would be hard earned, given the quality of the world class field.” Yes, for Scott, the real magic of the Phelps story isn’t his phenomenal success but his willingness to confront possible failure – openly, publicly, courageously.

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What our boys got was the latter, with the stronger teams Thailand and the Philippines as their opening opponents as the battle began at the Zayyathiri Indoor Stadium.

If a strong start gives a team some psychological edge and sets them on the right path, the Singapore boys knew they would have none of that in Naypyidaw. Against Thailand, they fought valiantly but went down 59–69. Then came the match against regional kingpins Philippines. Singapore played well but still lost 75–88.

With these two losses, the next match against Malaysia would be do-or-die. Yet history wasn’t on the side of the Singapore team. They may badly need a morale booster at this crucial stage of the competition but they had not beaten their Causeway rivals since 1979. Recalling the team’s psyche at that low point, Ng Hanbin says, “We knew it was now or never. Whatever the statistics, the task ahead was clear — beat Malaysia.”

With a remarkable single-mindedness worthy of emulation beyond the court, the Singapore boys did just that, winning 71–67. Captain Desmond Oh puts it well when he describes this match as “the turning point”.

And what a definitive turn around it was. Having broken a major psychological barrier, the boys simply soared. They already believed they could fly. So they next beat their opponents Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar with consummate ease.With these results, they earned their well-deserved bronze, assuring Singapore its first SEA Games medal in men’s basketball since a bronze at the 1979 SEA Games in Jakarta.

Coach Neo Beng Siang attributes his players’ success to trust among them, a vital ingredient in team sport. So even when the chips were down after the first two losess, there was no blame game. Instead, the players, says Desmond, bonded well and continued to believe that everyone still could contribute to success.

Now that they have ended a long medal drought at the SEA Games, they are hungry for more. The signs are encouraging. Building on their good showing in Myanmar, they won the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (Seaba) Stankovic Cup for the first time in 2014. In the process, they beat strong teams like hosts Indonesia (72–62) and Malaysia (69–61).

With the 2015 SEA Games held in Singapore, the hope is that they will take things further and perhaps even win gold. For players like Hanbin, Desmond, Lim Sheng Yu, Jabez Su, Khaw Yeong Wooi, Hong Weijian, Goh Kok Chiang and Lim Sheng Yu, however, what matters most won’t be the results on the court.

Sure, a gold will be nice, even historic. But they know that, years later, when they look back on their days of glory, what will bring them most joy is something more enduring. It will be the wealth of memories about team bonding amidst the sweat and toil.

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Lesson One: It ain’t over till it’s over. Yes, at one point, it did look like she — for all her commitment and hard work — would have to skip the SEA Games. Just three months before the competition, she was training at East Coast when she was hit by a car and thrown three metres away.

Thankfully, she landed on a grass patch and did not suffer any broken bones. However, she could not escape swollen lips, a swollen neck and bruised limbs and abrasions. She also had three damaged front teeth that had to be repaired with surgery. Staying in hospital affected her training schedule which was then moving into high gear. But she didn’t waver — and still harboured hope of a speedy recovery.

Lesson Two: Passion matters above all else. So eager was Dinah to get back on track that, on the fifth day after the accident, she was already pedalling away on her trainer at home. Her reason? Very simple. She missed the feeling of cycling.

Yes, it started with just that — the desire to do the task one loves (in this case cycling), not some grand quest for glory. “It’s only on hindsight that one talks about stuff like why it’s important not to give up or why we must be strong in the face of adversity. In reality, what gets us going first and foremost is what we like to do most,” she says.

Lesson Three: If you want something, you have to pay a price. Which was what Dinah showed when she took no-pay leave from her job at Broadrick Secondary School to prepare for the Games. That meant the stakes were high. The biomedical sciences graduate from the National University of Singapore had taken a move to pursue sporting success in a culture where financial rewards and career advancement matter.

Lesson Four: Your day will come, never mind the many obstacles. Having finished third at the SEA Games twice, Dinah was hopeful that she will have her breakthrough in 2013. That was before her accident as she had been showing glimpses of good form. Going into the Women’s 30km Time Trial event held at the outskirts of Naypyidaw, Myanmar, however, she had to not only banish negative thoughts related to the accident but also prove her worth against an opponent she had never beaten — Thailand’s Chanpeng Nontasin.

Yet this time, she — in a demonstration of true sporting grit — got out of Chanpeng’s shadow to win in 46 min 30.125 sec, well ahead of the Thai and Indonesia’s Yanthi Fuchianty. With her triumph, Dinah became just the fourth Singapore cyclist to win gold at the SEA Games after a long break, joining Masduki Besar (1971), Jamil Mohamed (1977) and Bernard Wong (1997). And to think she first picked up her sport as a child just by pedalling up and down the 10m-long HDB corridor outside her family’s flat — and on a neighbour’s bicycle too.

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Yes, when gymnast David made his little history, he did so with his characteristic low key style. First, he captured bronze at the 2007 SEA Games in Korat, Thailand, to become the first Singapore male gymnast to win a medal at this competition in 20 years. Then, in another breakthrough, he clinched bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, finishing behind Australia’s Prashanth Sellathurai and England’s Max Whitlock.

Those were big moments for Singapore gymnastics, especially for the men’s team which could only watch as their female counterparts lifted their sport from the doldrums. Yet, looking back at his sports career, David says he did not expect much from it as he was guided purely by passion — from the start.

As a student at Raffles Institution in the late 90s, he, with the support of his parents, made the bold decision to move to Perth for better training. “At that time, I wasn’t thinking of national glory or anything like that. I just wanted to get better in something I was very interested in. It didn’t even matter to me that others didn’t care much about it,” says the aerospace engineering graduate from the University of Michigan.

It was such purity of purpose which kept him going when life in Perth proved hard at first. The move proved worthwhile as he made much progress as a gymnast. He also grew as an athlete. “Among other things, I learnt what it means to follow one’s heart and not to hold back — in terms of effort put in or sacrifices made. It doesn’t matter if your pursuit isn’t popular as long as you like it and believe in it,” he says.

After his stint in Australia, he came back and served his national service before going to USA. This time, all he wanted was a university degree. He wasn’t planning to continue with gymnastics. But he could not resist the lure of the sport. With the encouragement of coach Kurt Golder, he eventually joined the university team.

It turned out his US stint proved to be particularly fruitful. He started making waves on the collegiate scene there and even earned the prestigious All-American, one of the highest honours in US college sports. On his US experience, he says what he remembers most isn’t the results but the journey. “Things can get very intense as the level of competition is very high. But what keeps people going is the sense of fun, the team work, the values learnt as part of our development as athletes — the need for hard work, the importance of having friends who push you and support you. Competing in such an environment, you can always feel the energy. It’s almost natural to love your sport and enjoy the journey.”

Not that his path was smooth sailing. In fact, as a gymnast, he had his share of back problems, a result of cumulative injuries. But he always kept going. Being in a less popular sport, he has always been motivated by the hope that his exploits will inspire a new generation of gymnasts. Good things — many unexpected and unplanned — did happen to him. They too, he believes, can happen to today’s athletes — if they follow the heart and work hard.

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With that, he won gold at the expense of the big names — and the term “bradburied” became an Aussie verb to refer to unexpected success.

Colin Cheng loves this story, describing it as “amazing”. It is little wonder for, in his own career, the Singapore sailor too has had to face stronger and more seasoned opponents — and, often, what keeps him going is the belief that the underdog too will have his day. Like what happened to him in the 2012 Olympics.

In the British capital, the former Anglo-Chinese School student was aiming to be among the top 25 sailors. Top 20 would have been, gosh, unrealistic, he thought. But he would eventually blow all those expectations as he powered to finish 15th out of 49 contestants in the Laser Standard. In the process, he finished ahead of world class sailors like Austria’s Andreas Geritzer and Portugal’s Gustavo Lima.

It was vindication for the nanotechnology undergraduate at the University of New South Wales who had put aside his studies to prepare for the competition.

In the build up to London, the 1.75m-tall Colin bulked up his scrawny 65kg frame as he moved up to senior level, putting on 17kg to tip the scales at 82kg. But compared to peers on the circuit, Asians — who have won just a few medals in the history of Olympic sailing — remain physically smaller and are pretty much ignored.

Colin didn’t let this get to him, choosing instead to knuckle down and win the respect of his peers. It was “positive fuel” for him in his quest to prove to the other sailors that he was worthy to be among them in the water.

It was this sort of determination that had defined his run-up to the Olympics, which required him to dig deep as he suffered one setback after another. Although he was a world junior champion, stepping up to the elite level in the Open category was a different story altogether.

There were more downs than ups. For example, he missed out on gold at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and had a poor outing at the 2011 World Championships in Perth. The only child of two medical doctors, he would only achieve qualification at the last minute.

In London, his efforts eventually propelled him to three top-10 finishes across 10 races. While a medal was beyond reach, he, looking back, is delighted to have put in some of the best races in his career at the Olympics.

Recalling his experience in London, he says, “That was my first Olympics. I was not as experienced as some of the other competitors. But I also had little pressure to perform and could be ‘fearless’. So my result exceeded expectations.”

The highlight was holding off eventual gold medallist and five-time world champion Tom Slingsby of Australia in Race 8 before eventually being overtaken to finish 2nd. That experience was surreal.

For a brief moment at least, Colin, coached by Brett Beyer, stood tall among the “very, very best”. If it could happen once, it could happen again — especially if the stars align, like they did for Bradbury in 2002.

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The Raffles Institution student who certainly knows his sports history well shares, “Derek was forced to withdraw from his 400m race during the 1988 Seoul Olympics just 10 minutes before it started because of an Achilles cords injury. He underwent four surgeries the following year and trained very hard, hoping for a comeback in the 1992 Olympics. He did get to race in Barcelona. But unfortunately, his hamstring tore when he was just 175m away from the finishing line during the 400m semi-final. He was in great pain and despair but he continued, limping to the end with the help of his father.”

What strikes Bernie most about this heartwarming tale is that Derek chased his dream on his own terms, beyond medals and all — and with a loved one by his side at his lowest point.

Though Derek’s story, part of Olympic folklore, is well known, it takes on added poignancy when shared by Bernie. Afterall, he too has his own famous tale — and it is a tale that has quickly become part of Singapore sports history. At the YOG in Nanjing, he opened his campaign with a disastrous 21st place and did not even finish his second race. Those results placed him bottom of the 30-strong fleet. But, with his mental strength, he found his second wind and went on to achieve Top Five placings in the following races. Those stellar performances gave him 38 points — and the much-coveted gold, ahead of Portugal’s Rodolfo Pires (47) and Hungary’s Jonatan Vadnai (50).

Tellingly, Bernie had to wait long after his poor showing in the first two races as the competition was postponed for three straight days due to lack of winds. Imagine all the negative thoughts he could well have entertained during the long wait to prove himself. Recalling the episode, he says all kinds of thoughts went through his mind. “To begin with, becoming the Singaporean representative in Nanjing was not easy. I had to train hard and cross many hurdles before securing the opportunity. So I had high expectations of myself. However, after the first racing day, the results were very disappointing…. I was extremely upset. I tried controlling my emotions, but when caring boat charterers came to console me, I broke into tears. At that point, my chance of a podium finish seemed impossible. The YOG only allows for one race discard and I already had two bad races on the first day.”

Fortunately, his coach Fernando Alegre shared with him the story of Ben Ainslie who staged a remarkable comeback to win gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. “I knew my chance of a comeback was rather slim, but I told myself YOG is a once in a life time experience and since I was already there, I should just sail well to improve my ranking. I kept telling myself, ‘Every race is a new race’.”

This simple bit of psychology worked and Bernie, one of the favourites before the competition, rose steadily up the rankings. He remained unfazed even when wind speeds became higher than what Singaporeans are known to be adept in. Opponents who tried to play the mind game found him hard to derail. He just never gave up. He just kept pushing on.

The rest is history as he and fellow sailor Samantha Yom became the first Singaporeans to triumph at an Olympic event since Singapore first sent athletes to the 1936 Berlin Games. As Majulah Singapura filled the Jinniu Lake Sailing Venue in Nanjing, a young man had not only given his country a long-awaited gold but also a stirring story of epic proportion, one that will be told for generations to come.

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But her big break came much later — at the 2011 SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia, where her sport was making its maiden appearance. Sure, she had been all over the world — to places like China, Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Qatar and the United States — for bigger and more international meets. But the Palembang assignment was different.

On the rare opportunity to be part of a major Games, she recalls, “I was excited and all fired up. There was more pressure because I wanted so badly to shine.” This was understandable as hers is a “minority sport” and its inclusion in major competitions is never a given. “In a way, I took it upon myself to use this platform to raise the profile of wakeboarding in Singapore by doing well,” she says.

She did just that with some fine performances. With a routine that included advanced tricks like the air raley and 360-degree rotations, she set herself apart from her rivals, cruising to victory well ahead of teammate Kalya Kee and Philippines’ Samantha Bermudez. Coming into the competition in Palemang, she knew her reputation as the 2007 wakeboarding world championships girls’ bronze medallist would count for little if she succumbed to pressure and under perform. “Doing well in this meet mattered as this was the first time I was really part of Team Singapore,” she says, adding that the feeling of being part of a big national team was “very special”.

Her results yielded some tangible benefits for her sport, with more people showing interest. Their support, she says, has been important whenever she feels she is not able to perform her best. Being in a sport with plenty of literal and metaphorical falling, Sasha has learnt how to continue pushing on through difficult times. “There have been instances when I fall on tricks that I know I shouldn’t. It can be frustrating and it feels like I’m not making progress. But I’m learning to train my mind not to let negative thoughts consume me,” she explains.

As part of her growth, she looks to fellow wakeboarders — including USA’s Dallas Friday — for inspiration, especially when she fell and hurt her knee a few years ago. “When I was down and out, Dallas’ name was the first to come to my mind. She has faced a lot of injuries over the course of her career. Yet, no matter what, she gets back on the water and gives 110 percent. I always remind myself that if she can do it, so can I,” says the former Singapore Sports School student.

That determination has served her well, particularly at the 2014 Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand. Posting a new national record, she won the women’s waterski slalom event as she beat South Korea’s Han Ahreum and Indonesia’s Ummu Thoyibhatus Sholikah. She also clinched bronze in the wakeboarding event, finishing behind China’s Han Qiu and South Korea’s Yun Hee Hyun. While these results are encouraging, Sasha remains focused on her goal of raising her sport’s status by doing well in more mainstream competitions — like the 2015 SEA Games where both the slalom and wakeboarding events will be contested. Keenly aware of the need to “seize the day”, she knows she and her team mates have their work cut out in their quest to promote their sport.

Ultimately, she is driven by something deeper and more personal. “I know I can be better and I don’t want to stop until I feel that I’ve reached my maximum potential,” she says, adding, “In sports, I want to know I’ve done my best and that I’ve done all I can.” Along the way, she would have left some pioneering marks, including raising the profile of an underrated sport.

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For the then 22-year-old Lewis, the outing was especially memorable. He managed to lift 182kg at clean-and-jerk and 133kg at snatch. While his total of 315kg could only earn him 10th place, it was a new national record and a personal milestone.

Sure, he was way behind medallists like Canada’s George Kobaladze and Australia’s Damon Kelly. Still, the credible result was vindication of his decision to press on in his quest to don national colours. He had set himself the target of representing Singapore after being inspired by how Helena Wong made news with her selection for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India.

“For my generation, that was the first time someone from Singapore got onto the big stage for weightlifting. It was awesome and I told myself I too would want to get a similar opportunity one day,” he recalls.

That burning desire started an arduous journey — one that would be marked by hard work, little money, slammed doors, pressure to give up and constant frustrations as any glimmer of hope often gave way to harsh reality. What kept him going was a quote he learnt as a child: “Every decision has consequences. Whatever you choose, make sure you always do your best and succeed”.

He did do his best for sure. It just wasn’t good enough to make the cut for either the 2011 SEA Games or the 2012 Olympics. But he seized the chance to earn his ticket to Glasgow with some fine performances in 2014. Looking back, he says, “I was just so happy that our men’s team were back on the weightlifting scene at the Commonwealth Games after so long. It felt good to know that I, in my own small way, had contributed to this breakthrough.”

Indeed, he is proud to be a key member of a new generation of weightlifters trying to put their once glorious sport back in the limelight. His quest, he says, would not be possible without the unwavering support of people like his coach Wu Chuan Fu and Singapore Weightlifting Federation’s President Tom Liaw. The latter, for example, found him a place to stay when his money ran out and gave him coaching opportunities.

Born in Singapore, Lewis — a self-professed foodie who has harboured thoughts of becoming a chef — grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. A “fat kid”, he was initially into rugby before a school coach encouraged him to pick up weightlifting when he was 13. His serious foray into the sport happened after he came back here to fulfil his national service obligations.

His mother would rather that he spends time studying. But he — with his persuasion — has managed to convince her to let him concentrate on his sport for now. She calls him “jui gu” (Teochew for “buffalo”), a nickname from young which he still keeps proudly today for its connotation of bulk and strength.

Weightlifting may not be a glamorous sport but it, he says, has given him much. Apart from the training of character, it has enabled him to travel to different places and experience different cultures. It has also given him the skills to set up his own training school. Named Solitude of Strength, it is a modest business. What drives him most is the desire to “give back to the community”, providing a home for those interested in what he calls “an abandoned sport”.

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