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Asian Youth Games MVP, now Straits Times Athlete of the Year
The best female athlete at the recently concluded 25th SEA Games in Laos was unveiled yesterday as the 2009 Straits Times Athlete of the Year. 17-year-old swimmer Quah Ting Wen beat national paddler Feng Tianwei, sailor Darren Choy, shooter Jasmine Ser, and veteran footballer Aleksandar Duric to the coveted award.
Despite her breathtaking achievements, including five SEA Games gold medals, four Asian Youth Games triumphs and a string of national records, Quah maintains an admirable air of humility. “It’s an amazing honour,” she said yesterday at the Conrad Centennial hotel where she was presented the award. “It’s pretty cool to be nominated against Aleksandar, a very mature and experienced footballer, and Darren, a world-class athlete and Jasmine, and an Olympic medallist (Feng)”.
Young aspiring athletes who want to know her secret formula to success will have to look no further than the age-old proven formula – hard work – that Quah is an epitome of. Rising every morning at 4.55am, Quah fights the lethargy and plunges into the pool to do laps that can easily add up to just over 5 kilometres. And this is only considered light morning training. There will be more to come in the afternoon after school.
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