SINGAPORE: Three finswimmers and their coaches said on Thursday (Mar 20) they would cooperate fully with police investigations and that they believe “the truth will prevail”, a day after it was revealed falsified results had been submitted as part of the 2023 SEA Games selection process.
“As this matter is currently under investigation by the Singapore Police Force now, we have full confidence in the authorities and trust that the process will be carried out thoroughly and fairly,” they said in a joint statement.
“We are committed to cooperating fully with the investigation and respecting its integrity.”
The statement was signed off by three of the four athletes involved in the women's 4x200m surface relay event in the 2023 SEA Games - Vanessa Ong, Bernice Ting and Jamie Ang - as well as two of the coaching staff at that time - team manager Faiz Suhaimi and assistant coach Gary Lee.
The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) revealed on Wednesday that the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF) had submitted falsified results for the selection process for that event, and that a police report had been lodged.
The fourth swimmer, Jovita Ho, and her father, Desmond Ho, the SUF's former vice-president, were not part of the statement.
When contacted by CNA, Mr Ho and Jovita said a unified statement was not given out because there was a split in the finswimming community after the 2023 SEA Games, with the other two coaches starting their own academy, and Mr Ho starting his.
He claimed that since a committee of inquiry was convened last July to investigate the allegations, he has tried to reach out to the coaches but not heard from them.
Jovita told CNA that as an athlete, she was focused on training and not on what she saw as "miscommunication" within SUF.
“The four girls who are mentioned are the victims,” she said. “We did represent the country, and we did do our part.”
She said she was not aware of any police investigation until the news broke. She added she was interviewed by SNOC in August last year, but not kept in the loop until Wednesday.
“I assumed that the case was closed," Jovita said.
On Wednesday evening, SNOC and SportSG further clarified that the athletes involved did not even competed in the event for which falsified results were submitted.
Both Jovita and her father said that fabricated results from a competition in Malaysia were submitted to SNOC. She and the other swimmers were in Singapore for other races, and did not attend that meet.
She said she was selected after an appeal process, and did not question how she had qualified for the SEA Games.
“What was told to us by coach Gary was just (that) the four fastest girls will be able to qualify for the relays,” she said.
Jovita's father said the submission of results was handled by the management, and that athletes were unaware of the process.
Mr Ho added he was not in charge of keying in the timings, and that this was the task of team manager Faiz.
Mr Lim Yao Xiang, a finswimming teammate who did not participate in the 2023 SEA Games, said Singapore had stopped competing in the sport for many years, and only started doing so again in 2021.
That meant a lack of clarity for athletes on qualifying benchmarks for major Games, he said, while also pointing out that across all sports, those who miss the qualifying standard can still be considered.
He said, however, that management needs to be take charge for what happens in their organisations.
"How can you be a leader or have a high position and claim zero responsibility?" he asked.
02:22 Min
Finswimming. Jiu-jitsu. Kickboxing. These are just some so-called "unusual" sports that Team Singapore athletes are taking part in at the 31st SEA Games. Alif Amsyar reports.
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“As this matter is currently under investigation by the Singapore Police Force now, we have full confidence in the authorities and trust that the process will be carried out thoroughly and fairly,” they said in a joint statement.
“We are committed to cooperating fully with the investigation and respecting its integrity.”
The statement was signed off by three of the four athletes involved in the women's 4x200m surface relay event in the 2023 SEA Games - Vanessa Ong, Bernice Ting and Jamie Ang - as well as two of the coaching staff at that time - team manager Faiz Suhaimi and assistant coach Gary Lee.
The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) revealed on Wednesday that the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF) had submitted falsified results for the selection process for that event, and that a police report had been lodged.
The fourth swimmer, Jovita Ho, and her father, Desmond Ho, the SUF's former vice-president, were not part of the statement.
When contacted by CNA, Mr Ho and Jovita said a unified statement was not given out because there was a split in the finswimming community after the 2023 SEA Games, with the other two coaches starting their own academy, and Mr Ho starting his.
He claimed that since a committee of inquiry was convened last July to investigate the allegations, he has tried to reach out to the coaches but not heard from them.
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SWIMMER SAYS SHE WAS UNAWARE OF FALSIFICATION
Jovita told CNA that as an athlete, she was focused on training and not on what she saw as "miscommunication" within SUF.
“The four girls who are mentioned are the victims,” she said. “We did represent the country, and we did do our part.”
She said she was not aware of any police investigation until the news broke. She added she was interviewed by SNOC in August last year, but not kept in the loop until Wednesday.
“I assumed that the case was closed," Jovita said.
On Wednesday evening, SNOC and SportSG further clarified that the athletes involved did not even competed in the event for which falsified results were submitted.
Both Jovita and her father said that fabricated results from a competition in Malaysia were submitted to SNOC. She and the other swimmers were in Singapore for other races, and did not attend that meet.
She said she was selected after an appeal process, and did not question how she had qualified for the SEA Games.
“What was told to us by coach Gary was just (that) the four fastest girls will be able to qualify for the relays,” she said.
Jovita's father said the submission of results was handled by the management, and that athletes were unaware of the process.
Mr Ho added he was not in charge of keying in the timings, and that this was the task of team manager Faiz.
Mr Lim Yao Xiang, a finswimming teammate who did not participate in the 2023 SEA Games, said Singapore had stopped competing in the sport for many years, and only started doing so again in 2021.
That meant a lack of clarity for athletes on qualifying benchmarks for major Games, he said, while also pointing out that across all sports, those who miss the qualifying standard can still be considered.
He said, however, that management needs to be take charge for what happens in their organisations.
"How can you be a leader or have a high position and claim zero responsibility?" he asked.
02:22 Min
Finswimming. Jiu-jitsu. Kickboxing. These are just some so-called "unusual" sports that Team Singapore athletes are taking part in at the 31st SEA Games. Alif Amsyar reports.
Continue reading...