Singapore — It was a remark so unusual that it made the news, with some people applauding her and others wishing she had been “polite.”
After Ms Chantal Liew finished her marathon swim at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday (Aug 4), she made history for being the first Singaporean to swim in the event as well as breaking tradition in being more candid, rather than diplomatic, in the post-event interview.
Ms Liew finished 23rd out of 25th in her event, a 10-kilometre open water swim, with the time of 2 hours 8 minutes and 17.9 seconds.
Reports say the swimmer was in a triumphant mood during the interview, feeling that she had shut doubters up “100 per cent”.
And then her now-famous remark came, after having approval from the media liaison standing next to her.
“They can kiss my a**. I hope it shuts them up and I hope it shuts up all the armchair critics in Singapore.”
She added, “It’s tough what we do. Athletes don’t want to perform badly, we all want to come here and perform our best. So I’m happy that I did what I did today. I can say the same, with confidence, for every other athlete that’s here in Tokyo right now.
Sometimes your best is not good enough, sometimes it is… but you live and you learn, and at the end of the day, I love what I do… and no one can take that away from us.”
In a tweet after the interview, CNA’s Matthew Mohan provided some context for Ms Liew’s remarks.
Many Singaporeans congratulated the swimmer on her achievement online.
However, some seemed to not be too keen on the language she used.
Others urged her to be “humble.”
Yet some other netizens found her attitude to be “arrogant” or “aggressive.”
However, supporters far outweighed the detractors, and some commenters even found her candour refreshing.
/TISG
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