SINGAPORE: Mr Gary Yeo, who once represented the country in the London 2012 Summer Olympics and other prestigious athletic events, is doing something very special for the athletes en route to Hangzhou, China, on Wednesday (Sept 27).
When the former track and field champ, now a pilot, had heard that the team and coach would be flying Scoot for the games, he did not hesitate and volunteered as a pilot for their Sept 27 flight, combining his two passions of sports and flying.
After hanging up his running shoes in 2015 at 29, he joined Scoot’s Cadet Pilot Programme. Since 2018, Mr Yeo has been a First Officer on board the Boeing 787.
However, he never turned his back on the sports scene in Singapore, staying active and supporting athletes and athletic programs. He even had a stint as Vice President of the Singapore Athletics Association from 2021 to 2023.
Mr Yeo, now 37, was once the flag bearer for the country at the 2014 Asian Games.
His credentials as an athlete are impressive; he’s a five-time SEA Games Silver medalist and won the 2012 ASEAN University Games for the 100-meter race. He also competed in both the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games and represented Singapore in the Commonwealth Games.
2023 ASIAN GAMES
This year’s Asian Games at Hangzhou began last Saturday, Sept 23, and will end on Oct 8. Originally scheduled for last year, it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year’s line-up from Singapore is particularly exciting, especially because of runner Veronica Shanti Pereira, who has been having such a run of victories this year that she’s being dubbed Singapore’s Spirit Queen and Asia’s Sprint Queen.
Pereira has been making big waves, bagging gold medals in 100m and 200m races at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia and the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok.
The full list of Team Singapore for this year’s games may be found here. Mr Jowen Lim (Wushu) and Ms Amita Berthier (Fencing) are the flag bearers at this year’s Games. Ms Berthier is also doubling up as the pledge taker. The team includes former badminton world champion Loh Kean Yew and his older brother, Loh Kean Hean.
On Monday, Sept 25, Kimberly Ong won the first medal in Hangzhou for Singapore, getting the bronze in women’s changquan (wushu). /TISG