Wong Meng Ee finishes biathlon despite near blindness

Story by Koh Yizhe/Red Sports

East Coast Park, Saturday, March 13, 2010 - One remarkable man stood out last weekend at the Singapore Biathlon. Dr. Wong Meng Ee, 40, finished the 1.5km swim and 10km run – even though he is nearly blind.

Together with his guide, Dr. Tan Swee Kheng, he completed the biathlon in a timing of 1 hour, 50 minutes and 38 seconds.

"I am just happy to be on this side of the race," beamed Meng Ee after the race.

Meng Ee, an assistant professor at the National Institute of Education (NIE) with a doctorate in sociology, has a genetic degenerative eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa. His retina has been deteriorating prematurely and he has gradually lost his sight since 10 years of age.

Meng Ee is now left only with peripheral vision but even that is like looking through frosted glass. When he swims in the pool, he can make out the lines at the bottom of the pool if the sun is bright enough. However, he could see nothing in the sea or on the run.

Despite the challenges, it did not stop him from joining his first individual biathlon. The swim, with people jostling each other, proved to be the biggest challenge of the race for him.

"In the water, it was a little tricky as there were a lot of bodies to dodge. The smell of diesel in the sea was also a bit annoying, but that is inevitable,” said Meng Ee.

"However, there were no worries for me because I was sandwiched between Swee Kheng and her friend so I could concentrate on the swim, relax and enjoy it.”

"My concern was more for Swee Kheng as her goggles were flooding with seawater! Despite that, I thought we managed the swim quite well," added Meng Ee, who finished the swim in 45:14.

Meng Ee and Swee Kheng were given pink caps – the only biathletes in the race with that colour – and a safety kayak was assigned to them to keep an eye on them from a distance.

"During the run, she [Swee Kheng] punished me!” joked a satisfied Meng Ee. “Swee Kheng is a much better runner than I am so she kept pulling me along! We used a towel as a link while we ran. There are no complaints from me about the run, except that it was a little warm, but that is out of the organisers' control.”

He finished the run in 1:05:23.

Meng Ee and Swee Kheng trained together for the swim once a week although there were busy periods where they could not train together.

"We did have a rocky start as my goggles had sea water going in, but apart from that, it was okay,” recounted Swee Kheng. “Manoeuvring around people was a bit challenging, but we overcame it well. Although the run route had a few turns, it was fine and I think the organisers did a good job."

"The markers and flags [in the sea] were easy to see, which is an improvement from previous years," added Swee Kheng.

When asked if he would do it again, Meng Ee replied without hesitation, "With the right preparation, I definitely would!"