SINGAPORE: Imagine a person as a cupboard with many drawers, each holding its own items.
For most of us, the one labelled "work" is typically filled to the brim. For others, it might be "study", "hobbies" or "family" that is packed.
There are also compartments which were once overflowing, but now left open.
Such is the case for Theresa Goh, a retired swimmer, 2016 Paralympic bronze medallist and history-maker.
She was Singapore's first female
The 38-year-old retired from competitive swimming in 2019.
While there was a sense of relief in being a "normal" person once again, Goh has in recent times felt something else – restlessness.
There was one aspect of her life, one drawer, that lacked purpose.
Theresa Goh swimming the 50m butterfly sprint S5 at the ASEAN Para Games 2015. (Photo: Justin Ong)
"I feel like work is very purposeful, and I feel fulfilled in the things that I do most of the time. (But) sometimes (there is also that) wondering, 'is there anything else I want to do more?'" she told CNA.
Goh is a pathway and performance manager
"I think there's just something else (to life) besides work and social life ... Maybe it's that I was part of a sport for so long that it was just another piece of me."
And so, six years after hanging up her googles, Goh is back representing Singapore again - this time in the sport of shooting.
It was at a local event organised by Singapore's pentathlon body in July last year where Goh discovered her aptitude for shooting.
Modern pentathlon typically involves fencing, shooting, swimming, riding and cross-country riding, but this particular event had both running and laser shooting.
"Everyone was running, so when they ran, they were all faster than me," she recalled. "I was the last to reach (the shooting table), but I was the first or second to leave."
Various other "chance encounters" subsequently further ignited Goh's interest in the sport.
"I found it's so much easier when you take to a sport and you do not too bad at it," she said.
As someone who enjoys picking up new skills, shooting appealed to her.
"I like learning. Learning new things and learning new techniques and knowing that there's better and more to do; more progress to be made. I like the idea of that," she said,
"I like knowing that this is new and I can get better at it, and seeing the progress."
Theresa Goh (first from left) in action at the shooting range. (Photo: Pheong Siew Shya)
Goh started training proper in October last year. She now trains twice a week, and often has to shuttle between the range in Yishun and her home in Tampines, a journey of close to two hours.
"The culture and the feel of the people at the shooting range, it also helps. They're all so friendly, so helpful, and the vibes are good," she said.
"I can do really well in the sport, but then if I don't like being at training where the people are, then it's not going to matter because I'm going to dread going to training."
While swimming and shooting are drastically different, Goh believes that her former sport has provided a base to build on.
"I'm glad I started swimming, because it really encompassed a lot of the basic requirements that I need for some of the other sports," she said,
"Swimming is not just physical. It's stamina, it's power, it's mental, it's everything that I needed ... now I have that foundation that I can use for shooting."
But having dedicated much of her life to swimming, it felt "a bit weird" to get into a new sport, admitted Goh, who has also started training for yet another discipline - shot put.
There are times she wonders if people might think she's "betraying" swimming. She has also questioned her choice to go through the rigour of competitive sport again.
Theresa Goh shows off her bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. (Photo: Reuters)
"I also then wonder - I've been at the top and I've got a Paralympic medal, why am I still doing this?" she added.
Goh also shared how stress affected her during early competitions.
Where nerves in swimming can be channeled into the pool, it is not the case with shooting, where the tiniest change to how one pulls a trigger can make a difference.
"At the start I did a couple of local competitions, and I got so nervous that I was perspiring in an air-conditioned range, and I could feel myself just getting very warm, my heart rate just increasing," she said.
"I realised the same level of nervousness that I can (use in) swimming, I can't really use it in shooting, because it might make me shake too much."
But what drives Goh is to see what she is capable of.
"Why do we have to limit ourselves so much? I want to see how much I can do. What can I do? How far can I go?" she said.
"And that doesn't stop just because I've reached a certain level in another sport, you know? I want to see what my limits are."
That was how she found herself at her first overseas competition - the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Changwon, South Korea - last month.
It was a strange feeling, Goh said, not the least because of her International Paralympic Council (IPC) athlete licence number.
She first registered with IPC more than two decades ago, so her number was much smaller compared to her peers and opponents.
When it came to the meet itself, what helped Goh was the ability to apply some relaxation techniques picked up from the pool.
"I was nervous, because it's been a couple of years since I've been in any kind of competitive environment," she said, adding that she calmed herself with the reminder that "it's not the end of the world if it's a bad shot".
Goh also realised how much she missed being able to compete.
"I do a little bit better in competition than in training. And the score was better than I've ever done in training," she added.
While she did not make the finals of the competition, the Singaporean registered a personal best score and met the qualifying standard for the APG.
The idea is to take things step by step, said Goh. Her goal is to eventually clinch a medal at future editions of the APG.
At the same time, she hopes she will not lose this newfound passion for shooting.
"At the start of swimming, when it started getting much more stressful, I think there was too much pressure," she said.
"At a certain point in my career in swimming, I did lose a little bit of that love for it. I'm trying to see how that doesn't happen (now), making sure I really enjoy my training, enjoy what I'm doing, and try not to same go down the same path in certain ways."
Fundamentally, Goh just wants to test herself as best she can, whether in shooting or shot put.
"I've always been quite inclined to sport and in whatever sport I find movement, I've always been quite good at it at a base level. (But) I also know that that's not enough to do well in competitive sport. So am I then willing to put in that extra bit to be more than good?" Goh said.
"For now, I'm totally willing to do what I need to do while juggling work and also a bit of shot put at the side. I've definitely missed it enough to come back."
Continue reading...
For most of us, the one labelled "work" is typically filled to the brim. For others, it might be "study", "hobbies" or "family" that is packed.
There are also compartments which were once overflowing, but now left open.
Such is the case for Theresa Goh, a retired swimmer, 2016 Paralympic bronze medallist and history-maker.
She was Singapore's first female
The 38-year-old retired from competitive swimming in 2019.
While there was a sense of relief in being a "normal" person once again, Goh has in recent times felt something else – restlessness.
There was one aspect of her life, one drawer, that lacked purpose.
Theresa Goh swimming the 50m butterfly sprint S5 at the ASEAN Para Games 2015. (Photo: Justin Ong)
"I feel like work is very purposeful, and I feel fulfilled in the things that I do most of the time. (But) sometimes (there is also that) wondering, 'is there anything else I want to do more?'" she told CNA.
Goh is a pathway and performance manager
"I think there's just something else (to life) besides work and social life ... Maybe it's that I was part of a sport for so long that it was just another piece of me."
And so, six years after hanging up her googles, Goh is back representing Singapore again - this time in the sport of shooting.
"THE VIBES ARE GOOD"
It was at a local event organised by Singapore's pentathlon body in July last year where Goh discovered her aptitude for shooting.
Modern pentathlon typically involves fencing, shooting, swimming, riding and cross-country riding, but this particular event had both running and laser shooting.
"Everyone was running, so when they ran, they were all faster than me," she recalled. "I was the last to reach (the shooting table), but I was the first or second to leave."
Various other "chance encounters" subsequently further ignited Goh's interest in the sport.
"I found it's so much easier when you take to a sport and you do not too bad at it," she said.
As someone who enjoys picking up new skills, shooting appealed to her.
"I like learning. Learning new things and learning new techniques and knowing that there's better and more to do; more progress to be made. I like the idea of that," she said,
"I like knowing that this is new and I can get better at it, and seeing the progress."
Theresa Goh (first from left) in action at the shooting range. (Photo: Pheong Siew Shya)
Goh started training proper in October last year. She now trains twice a week, and often has to shuttle between the range in Yishun and her home in Tampines, a journey of close to two hours.
"The culture and the feel of the people at the shooting range, it also helps. They're all so friendly, so helpful, and the vibes are good," she said.
"I can do really well in the sport, but then if I don't like being at training where the people are, then it's not going to matter because I'm going to dread going to training."
"HOW FAR CAN I GO?"
While swimming and shooting are drastically different, Goh believes that her former sport has provided a base to build on.
"I'm glad I started swimming, because it really encompassed a lot of the basic requirements that I need for some of the other sports," she said,
"Swimming is not just physical. It's stamina, it's power, it's mental, it's everything that I needed ... now I have that foundation that I can use for shooting."
But having dedicated much of her life to swimming, it felt "a bit weird" to get into a new sport, admitted Goh, who has also started training for yet another discipline - shot put.
There are times she wonders if people might think she's "betraying" swimming. She has also questioned her choice to go through the rigour of competitive sport again.
Theresa Goh shows off her bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. (Photo: Reuters)
"I also then wonder - I've been at the top and I've got a Paralympic medal, why am I still doing this?" she added.
Goh also shared how stress affected her during early competitions.
Where nerves in swimming can be channeled into the pool, it is not the case with shooting, where the tiniest change to how one pulls a trigger can make a difference.
"At the start I did a couple of local competitions, and I got so nervous that I was perspiring in an air-conditioned range, and I could feel myself just getting very warm, my heart rate just increasing," she said.
"I realised the same level of nervousness that I can (use in) swimming, I can't really use it in shooting, because it might make me shake too much."
But what drives Goh is to see what she is capable of.
"Why do we have to limit ourselves so much? I want to see how much I can do. What can I do? How far can I go?" she said.
"And that doesn't stop just because I've reached a certain level in another sport, you know? I want to see what my limits are."
TAKING IT STEP BY STEP
That was how she found herself at her first overseas competition - the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Changwon, South Korea - last month.
It was a strange feeling, Goh said, not the least because of her International Paralympic Council (IPC) athlete licence number.
She first registered with IPC more than two decades ago, so her number was much smaller compared to her peers and opponents.
When it came to the meet itself, what helped Goh was the ability to apply some relaxation techniques picked up from the pool.
"I was nervous, because it's been a couple of years since I've been in any kind of competitive environment," she said, adding that she calmed herself with the reminder that "it's not the end of the world if it's a bad shot".
Goh also realised how much she missed being able to compete.
"I do a little bit better in competition than in training. And the score was better than I've ever done in training," she added.
While she did not make the finals of the competition, the Singaporean registered a personal best score and met the qualifying standard for the APG.
The idea is to take things step by step, said Goh. Her goal is to eventually clinch a medal at future editions of the APG.
At the same time, she hopes she will not lose this newfound passion for shooting.
"At the start of swimming, when it started getting much more stressful, I think there was too much pressure," she said.
"At a certain point in my career in swimming, I did lose a little bit of that love for it. I'm trying to see how that doesn't happen (now), making sure I really enjoy my training, enjoy what I'm doing, and try not to same go down the same path in certain ways."
Fundamentally, Goh just wants to test herself as best she can, whether in shooting or shot put.
"I've always been quite inclined to sport and in whatever sport I find movement, I've always been quite good at it at a base level. (But) I also know that that's not enough to do well in competitive sport. So am I then willing to put in that extra bit to be more than good?" Goh said.
"For now, I'm totally willing to do what I need to do while juggling work and also a bit of shot put at the side. I've definitely missed it enough to come back."
Continue reading...