Singaporean SEA Games marathoner: age just a number

42-year-old marathoner of Singapore Jasmine Goh (Photo: https://seagames2021.com/news)

Hanoi (VNA) - 42-year-old marathoner of Singapore Jasmine Goh will be one of the oldest runners competing at the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in Hanoi, according to the national organising committee for SEA Games 31.

Marathon is one of the sports where experience and endurance can defeat youth in harsh competitions that require both physical strength and will.

The female marathoner won a ticket to SEA Games 31 after completing the "sub3"  tournament (complete a marathon under 3 hours) with a time of 2:56:36 at the Zurich Seville Marathon  in early February this year. This proves that age is just a number.

"I started running kind of like a birthday present to myself. I think one of the push factors was that I had put on some weight after childbirth," recalled Goh.

"I think a lot of mothers and women do this – putting the health and needs on the back burner because we focus on our families so much.”

Goh said that she wanted to show her kids that if she has a goal, works at it and commits to it, then she will reach her goal.

"I didn’t run when I was younger,” Goh said.

She clocked her first run of 2.5km.

"It was quite hilarious when I started," she said, adding that she was actually not happy with the distance. 

“A lot of people do their first run and they say it's so uncomfortable and they give up.

“I think also because my kids were my motivation factor. I didn't want to give up so easily, I wanted to show them a new me in time.”

Witnessing Goh's current ability, no one would have thought that her running career started quite late. Goh's first marathon came months after she decided to pick up running. She was 32 at the time.

At the 2015 SEA Games, Goh was in the crowd at East Coast Park as Singapore's marathoners pounded the pavement.

"It was just nice to see them in action. I was thinking to myself, what an honour to represent your country. And to be honest, I think Rachel See, Neo Jie Shi, they were also in their 30s. And I was like, I'm also in my 30s. So what is stopping me from having a shot, a chance at this?", she recalled.

In 2017, Goh made her debut at SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur and she got fourth.

Goh said she worked very hard to have a chance to attended SEA Games 31.

"I can use my story to inspire people to aspire towards sporting dreams. And I don't want them to think that you have no chance just because you're 42," she said.

Goh's goal in Hanoi is simple – doing her best for Singapore.

At SEA Games 31, Goh will meet strong athletes of the Philippines and the host Vietnam.

The marathon tournament will take place on May 19 at the My Dinh National Sports Complex in Hanoi. The Vietnam marathon team consists of four athletes - Pham Thi Hue, Hoang Thi Ngoc Hoa, Hoang Nguyen Thanh, and Le Van Tuan.

The regional sports event, themed “For a Stronger Southeast Asia”, is being held in Hanoi and 11 nearby cities and provinces from May 12 to 23.

Featuring 40 sports, SEA Games 31 is expected to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam has registered 965 athletes, including 534 men and 431 women, who are set to compete in all 40 sports at the Games, striving to win 140 gold, 77 silver and 71 bronze medals and secure the top place./.