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SEA Games 2025: Athletes Kerstin Ong and Amanda Lim on chasing their sporting dreams despite struggles
Description
It’s been about 10 days of excitement at the SEA Games, and Team Singapore has been going all out to make their mark.
Hurdler Kerstin Ong and swimmer Amanda Lim have returned home after their events and will join The Usual Place podcast to talk about their experiences in Thailand.
One is just getting started, and the other has bid farewell to the SEA Games stage.
Kerstin, 28, finally made her debut at the regional meet after a decade of trying to qualify.
But the race came with its own hurdle. The national records that she and fellow hurdler Ang Chen Xiang set in their respective events on Dec 12 were considered invalid due to timing system issues.
Meanwhile, Amanda won gold in the women’s 50m freestyle event.
Post-race, the 32-year-old announced that this would be her last SEA Games. It was her 10th outing at the regional meet, where she has won 21 golds, five silvers and two bronzes.
In this episode, I chat with Kerstin and Amanda about what went down during their events, what’s next for them, and the challenges of juggling training with work.
Highlights (click/tap above):
1:51 How SG officials paid to reject their own athlete’s record
9:46 Kerstin Ong had to break SG national record to get to compete in the SEA games
15:26 Kerstin and Amanda’s Shared Link: Taoist Priests
26:46 Nosebleeds, 3 to 5 hours of sleep: Health effects of juggling a full-time job with training
36:40 Why full-time national athletes can’t get credit cards
40:42 How are SG athletes funded?
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Filmed by: Studio+65
Edited by: Teo Tong Kai, Eden Soh and Chen Junyi
Executive producers: Danson Cheong, Elizabeth Khor & Ernest Luis
Editorial producer: Lynda Hong
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