By Georgina Lu

2016 has been a great year for our athletes. We glued ourselves in front of our TV/computer monitors for them. We cheered for them. We stalked them on Instagram. Yet, the work that professional athletes put in on a day-to-day basis remains elusive to most of us.

Here’s a list of things that happen behind the scenes:

1. You can’t imagine the amount of training they put in

Sure, we all know athletes train A LOT. But do we really know the extent of it? Or how it really feels to set your lungs on fire every single day?

Probably not.

Just to give you an inkling of what they go through daily:

The endless laps. In the lead-up to the Rio Paralympics, gold medallist Paralympian Yip Pin Xiu trained up to 12 times a week and started her day as early as 5.30am.

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And the longest lap. As part of her training, sprinter Shanti Pereira can run the 200m 15 times at one go, with only 45 seconds of rest in between. Talk about a lung-bursting run.

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2. They do whatever it takes to win

Even if it means a bloodied foot.

Silat exponent Nur Alfian famously beat a world champion with a foot that was bleeding like a tap during the SEA Games last year.

Just to win the gold for Singapore.

And this happened next.

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The Silat team then built on Alfian’s success by winning two gold, one silver and eight bronze medals at the World Pencak Silat Championship, which concluded earlier this month. Their achievements were even lauded by PM on Facebook.

3. But they still love sinful local food

Forget about Michael Phelps’s five-egg omelette and pizza dinner. When Singapore athletes makan, they do it the Singaporean way. We all know Olympic Gold Medallist Joseph Schooling and his black chai tow kueh. But do you know about sprinter Timothee Yap’s Yong Tau Foo and footballer Al-Qaasimy’s Roti Kirai?

Knowing that our athletes would crave authentic Singaporean dishes, chefs who were in charge of designing the menu at the Singapore House in Rio even included signature local food items such as Laksa, beef rendang and chicken rice.

4. They fail and they fail again so that they can win one day

Can you imagine giving 17 years of your life for a dream?

The world doesn't need to see my ugly crying face (yours is really well hidden). But the world needs to know how proud I am of you. You finally did it. You freaking did it. You are now a Paralympic medalist after 17 years of training and perseverance. Nobody knows our journey like us and I am so incredibly proud of you. ❤️ #oneteamsg #rioparalympics #rio2016 #tearsofjoy #bothsobbing PC: Hwee Koon

A photo posted by Yip Pin Xiu (@yippinxiu) on Sep 11, 2016 at 7:14pm PDT

Swimmer Theresa Goh took 17 years to become a Paralympic medallist, winning the bronze medal for the 100m breaststroke (SB4) at this year’s Games.

So what happened during the 17 years?

The 29-year-old was the first Paralympian swimmer to represent Singapore when she began her pursuit of a Paralympic medal in 2004. She came closest to a podium finish in 2008 when she finished fourth.

She won the bronze at her fourth Paralympic Games. How’s that for perseverance?

5. Training and technology are now inseparable

Coaches are important, but there are minute details that even the best coach in the world cannot measure. This is where sports science and technology kick in.

The Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) uses data analytics to gather information about a swimmer's stroke rate and distance covered per stroke.

It pays to be a geek, we can tell you that!

6. It can be a very lonely and long journey

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That’s especially so for individual sports like swimming and running. Hours were spent running circles and swimming laps and the conclusion of every session doesn’t give them glory; only hope that the hours spent training could shave precious milliseconds off their time.

7. Other than breaking records, they just want one thing

Our support – Not just infrastructure or resources; but from family, friends, colleagues, everyone… We should be proud of our athletes, regardless of their performance and background.

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Feeling pumped? Supporting Team Singapore is easy and you can start by following MCCY via their Facebook or Instagram page.

Top image via Team Singapore

This sponsored post fuels Mothership writers so that one day we can be as amazing as Team Singapore athletes.

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