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Singapore marathoner Soh Rui Yong, 30, has apologised to the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) for how he handled their past disputes.

Hopes to resolve differences

Soh issued his apology via a Facebook post on Feb. 22, after some "self reflecting", he wrote.

His post said he is "not a perfect person, and will never be", but vowed to "do better" and live up to the responsibility of being a role model to youths and those in Singapore, "by virtue of being a top Singapore athlete".

However, Soh stood his ground and said being a role model entails "standing up for what is right, no matter the cost".

He also admitted that he could have "handled certain disputes in the past differently", and added he could have been more "respectful and sensitive" during those instances.

Through his apology, Soh hopes to resolve the differences that he has with SNOC, and to "move forward in the best interests of Singapore sports".

Not to beg for a place on the SEA Games team

He added that his apology was "not to beg for a place on the SEA Games team", and said there's nothing more he wished to prove.

Soh said this was because he has already achieved his dream of representing Singapore and winning the SEA Games marathon "not once, but twice", where he clinched gold medals in 2015 and 2017.

He reiterated that his apology was purely for the way he handled certain disputes in the past, and said he hoped that the spotlight will shift away from him as "media headlines, podcasts and national debates have been dominated by my name over the past few days".

The focus instead should be on the 330 Singapore athletes that have been selected for the SEA Games.

He wrote: "Let us move on to celebrate the athletes chosen instead – I’m sure we can find many inspirational and newsworthy stories among them."

He concluded by saying that sports should not be divisive and cheered the Singaporean team on.

He also wrote: "The beautiful thing about sports is that it unites us and should not be a divide instead. I hope we can be united as one as Team Singapore fights to chase the dreams we have all worked so hard for."

Edited his previous post

The marathoner has also edited his previous Facebook post to remove the mention of Speaker and SNOC President Tan Chuan Jin on Feb. 18.

In the initial Feb. 16 version of his post, Soh rejected SNOC's claims that he has not made attempts to make amends.

He said he has attempted to make amends, but Tan has blocked him across various social media platforms for "reasons only known to himself".

You can read the now removed portion below:

"I can confirm that President of SNOC, Tan Chuan Jin, has blocked me on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, for reasons only known to himself. While he is well within his rights to block whoever he wants to block, it’s hard to resolve disputes when the leader of the SNOC himself is not open to communication."

Background

Soh wrote this Facebook post following SNOC's announcement that Soh was once again not selected to compete in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) on Feb. 16.

A SNOC spokesperson told The Straits Times (ST) that this was because Soh's conduct "fell short of the standards of attitude and behaviour the SNOC expects of and holds its athletes to".

SNOC's selection criteria have been "well-publicised and communicated" to all national sports associations, including Singapore Athletics (SA) since 2020, but "Soh's conduct and behaviour has continued to fall short of those standards", the spokesperson said.

Additionally, the spokesperson claimed that Soh has made no attempt to "make amends, correct or apologise for his conduct and behaviour".

"There has been no attempt by him to make amends, correct or apologise for his conduct and behaviour. Instead, there have been continued and persistent actions by Soh to challenge, mock, threaten and/ or disrespect organisations and individuals including the SNOC."

"The SNOC views such conduct and behaviour as unbecoming of an athlete that wishes to be selected to represent his country at major Games, and as contrary to the aforesaid requirement of the Olympic Charter."

This would be the second time that Soh has been excluded for the biennial SEA Games.

The first time occurred in 2019 for the SEA Games in the Philippines.

The same reason was given previously where SNOC said Soh's conduct was not up to par.

This is despite Soh having qualified for both events.

His most recent long distance effort saw him running 10 minutes faster than the qualifying mark of 2:33:08 set by SNOC, and effectively claiming the new national record with a 2 hours 22 minutes 59 seconds timing.

While SNOC did not list any specific incidents regarding Soh's conduct, the council and runner have knocked heads in the past.

Once was over Soh's promotion of personal sponsors at the 2017 SEA Games, and the other was due to Soh initially objecting to donating 20 per cent of his S$10,000 cash reward for his gold medal win back to SA for training and development.

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Top image from Soh Rui Yong/Facebook