Metro

Saturday May 17, 2008

Ex-Olympian looks back with pride

By TAN SIN CHOW


HE had braved jellyfish stings and the rough seas as part of his training routine back in the 1950s. During low tide in the open sea, he could even touch the mud while performing freestyle stroke.

But at the end of the day, such a perseverance was rewarded with an achievement that many sportsmen could have only dream of – a berth at the Olympics!

“In those days, the Olympics was dubbed the ‘thing’. To become an Olympian, without even winning a medal, was already an honour,” said swimmer Fong Seow Hoo.

A an old photograph Fong in action in his heyday.

He was the first Penangite to participate in the Olympic Games twice – the 1956 and 1960 Games in Melbourne, Australia, and Rome, Italy, respectively.

Now at 71, Seow Hoo still vividly recalls how his gruelling training regime was conducted in the seawater under the scorching heat along the Tanjung Bungah shoreline.

“We used to swim non-stop for hours in the water. We had no multi-million sports complex or Olympic-size swimming pool then.

“We did not even have the best trainers or facilities to look forward to and I had lost count of the number of times I was stung by jellyfish out in the open sea.

Fong proudly showing his old newspaper cuttings and photographs taken in his heyday.

“But we took pride in representing the state or country. For us, the ultimate goal was to emerge triumphant. That’s how we motivated ourselves then to achieve glory,” he said when met at the Penang Swimming Club recently.

At times, Seow Hoo said he pondered whether it was worth-while for youngsters to invest years of his or her life as an athlete back then.

He concurred that athletes nowadays were a lucky lot with incentives and assistance pouring in each time they secured victories in competitions.

“During my time, we did not have such privilege. Most of us were self-trained with limited resources. Other than the open seas, our other training ground was the freshwater pool at Mount Pleasure in Batu Ferringhi.

“And there was no one to correct or improve our swimming techniques. But I must say that I did have a good coach in Koay Teok Choo, who is a strict disciplinarian.

“He taught me a lot of things which could not be learnt from books,” he said.

Fong (in white), who was 19 then, posing for a photograph with a Japanese sportsman during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics Games.

Seow Hoo said athletes in the earlier days were very much on their own.

He singled out an example in the 1950s when they had to pay their own fare to compete in a triangular swimming meet in Kuala Lumpur.

“I was representing Penang Chinese Swimming Club then. I had to pass the hat around for club members to raise fund for my trip and participation there.

“While athletes nowadays could have at least a decent meal or a nutritionist to take care of their diet, we had to put up with sitting on stools and enjoying our economy rice at a back lane then.

“But I have no complaints as it was fun,” he said.

On his trip to Melbourne, Seow Hoo said he was excited the moment he knew he had beaten the qualifying mark and earned his ticket to the Games.

“I was looking forward to the Games. Although I knew I would not stand a chance of winning, I was hoping to meet the people of various nations,” he said.

He added that travelling in a Fokker aircraft to Australia was another experience he cherished most in his life.

“It took us one whole day to reach our destination. And it was quite difficult dealing with the time difference,” said the grand-father of five, who was 19 then.

He eventually took part in the 200m butterfly event, representing then Federation of Malaya, but immediately bowed out from the competition as he found the top swimmers there “too hot to handle”.

After seven years of competitive swimming, Seow Hoo called it a day in 1962. He had two Olympic Games appearances under his belt, and was also part of the team that went to the inaugural 1959 SEAP Games in Bangkok, Thailand.

He then worked as a sales executive for a tobacco firm for 19 years before starting his own bak kut teh business in 1981.

Seow Hoo, who runs the popu-lar Zealand Bak Kut Teh and Seafood Restaurant in Gurney Drive, still keeps a punishing pace in his life.

He wakes up early in the morning for a two-hour walk along the Gurney Drive, before taking a swim at the Penang Swimming Club in the afternoon.

Sometimes, he could even complete more than 20 laps in the pool, albeit in a slower pace.

When asked for his advice for aspiring swimmers, Seow Hoo, who is popularly known as Ah Hor (Tiger in Hokkien) to his friends and customers, had only two words – sheer determination.

“One must try and try and show true grit and determination if you want to reach the top.

“In fact, swimmers nowadays should take advantage of all the facilities, coaching and perks available.

“Sports have now become more competitive, taking into consideration the professional, technical and scientific aspects. I don’t find Malaysia lacking in those aspects,” he said.

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