The curious case of Landdis Su

Story by reader Erwin Wong

Landdis Su Ming Yan has long possessed a laudable curriculum vitae in schools' long distance running. He made the finals in all the events he entered, garnering two medals, and finished no lower than 8th in his three inter-school cross-country appearances.

Therefore more than just a few eyebrows were raised last Friday at the 50th National Inter-School Track and Field Championships when the 20-year-old Anglo-Chinese Junior College student once again climbed the podium step to receive yet another medal - but this time in the discus throw.

Yes, the discus. An event which conjures exaggerated images of thick, beefy and muscular individuals weighing a few hundred kilograms now has a new convert: One who used to specialize in distance running, a sport dominated by the pint-sized and nimble-footed.

Herein lies the curious case of Landdis Su.

Just how did a long distance runner become a discus thrower - and a good one at that?

"I placed fifth in the schools’ cross-country meet in 2007 and also ran a good time in the Standard Chartered half-marathon, but I injured my knee at the end of the year. The problem still persisted even though I saw a doctor, took medication and underwent physiotherapy," said Landdis as he talked about his final official year of distance running.

With his normal training regime curtailed, he started doing weights, hitting the gymnasium at an almost frenetic rate, and continued to gain muscle mass in the process. "I just needed something to do, as I'm the sort who cannot completely stop doing sports or exercising."

Landdis' coach-to-be, Mr Qu, told him to try out for the discus event soon after, and the rest, as they say, is history.

"Coach Qu has had a knack of talent-spotting throwers out of nowhere, and he just picked me to throw the discus. From then on, I underwent his training program and he was quite surprised that I improved so quickly."

There was little wonder why, as Landdis poured his heart and soul into doing the best he could in this entirely foreign discipline. He was scheduled to take part in the 2008 National schools meet, but an administrative error meant that he had to sit out. Thus he started training for this year's competition after last July, and doubled, even tripled his efforts in the December holidays.

He said, "I trained 4, 5 times a week then, and even alone on Sundays. I would stay till 8 or 9 in the evening, or be out under the sun at 2pm, wanting to perfect my technique. We (the ACJC) throwers are a dedicated bunch. We would always want to keep training, even during rest days. We would go to look for Coach Qu and consult him for ways where we could further improve."

With such fervent passion and positive attitude, Landdis was well-geared for the big stage. But a back injury two weeks before the final dampened his spirits. "I was not mentally prepared for this, and became demoralized. I told myself to be satisfied with a top 8 finish."

He pulled himself together days before the final, and stepped up his mental toughness. "I focused on positive thoughts, and visualized the whole process of doing well. I kept telling myself to throw 43 metres."

Clairvoyant or not, he was spot-on. He threw a nervy 37+ metres with his first attempt, but calmed down and improved into the 41m region in his second. With his rhythm in motion, he unleashed a 43.24m in his next throw, which placed him second at that point. "I was very happy and did not quite believe it. Many were shocked as well."

Perhaps overwhelmed a little by proceedings, Landdis let his guard down in his final three throws and could not improve on his best mark, allowing Tan Chien Ming of Raffles Institution to pass him for the runners-up spot with a 43.58m throw. Favourite Alan Teh (Hwa Chong Institution) won the event with a distance of 47.61m.

Three nuggets of information to put his feat into perspective: He became the first athlete in recent schools' track and field history to have won medals in both the long-distance and throwing disciplines (2003 C Division 3000m Bronze, 2005 B Division 2000m Steeplechase Silver, 2009 A Division Discus Bronze), his throw of 43.24m is the best third-placed finish ever, and it would also have been good enough to win the gold in 22 of the previous 29 A Division discus finals.

And Landdis was quick to credit Coach Qu for all this.

"I really want to thank him a lot for all he has done. He is very detailed, down to every spin and turn. He also kept telling me not to worry when I was not doing well, and we need to trust and have confidence in what our coaches tell us. This is something that I have realized after the Nationals."

Discus would take a back seat for now as Landdis concentrates on his studies. He will continue training after his GCE A levels at the end of this year, and if possible, during his National Service. He will also try his hand at other events and could even experiment with the decathlon.

And now that he has seen sides of the coin, how does he compare the two disciplines?

"Cross country was always something that I didn't like, but had to do, because I was good at it." Landdis mused. "Throwing the discus is all about technique. I would say, at the National Schools level, it is 70% technique and 30% skill. It forces you to think a lot, and to focus during that 1 minute that you have in the ring."

"I like throwing the discus, because it is a great feeling to see the flight of the discus in the air after you have thrown it."

At 1.84m tall and 76kg light, Landdis has dispelled the layman's notion that discus throwers need to possess the physique of 8-time Mr Olympia Ronnie Coleman in order to excel. Heck, he even managed to run his Physical Fitness Test 2.4km in a creditable 9-minute despite his knee injury.

And though Landdis cheekily lamented that he has been oft-teased for playing second fiddle in the fame game to his 16-year-old brother Jabez Su, the Catholic High School basketball captain and member of the National Youth Olympic squad, his almost seamless transition from household name in the distance running fraternity to a medal-winning discus thrower, coupled with the sheer dedication and unadulterated passion towards the cause, already makes him a winner in his own right.