SAA bring in Wilson Kipketer for training clinics with Singapore youth

CCAB, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 — The Singapore Athletic Association has brought in 800m world champion Wilson Kipketer for a series of training clinics. Kipketer arrived in Singapore on November 15th and will be here till December 4th.

Wilson Kipketer is Kenyan-born, three-time Danish 800m world champion (1995, 1997, 1999) and Olympic medalist (2000, 2004). Kipketer, 39, announced his retirement from competitive athletics in August 2005.

Kipketer came to Singapore in 2010 as a Youth Olympic Games ambassador (click here to read Red Sports’ interview with Kipketer when he was last here) and that trip sparked a mutual interest between SAA and the runner.

“When Wilson came to Singapore for YOG last year, he was impressed with some of our young athletes, and showed interest in working with them. We followed up with Wilson on the possibility of collaborating to develop our athletes and coaches, and we are very happy and honoured that he has returned to work with us,” said Mr. Canagasabai Kunalan, SAA’s vice-president for training and selection.

Since his arrival, SAA and Wilson have worked together to conduct daily training sessions and seminars for Singapore’s top junior (U20) athletes and coaches, as well as coaches and athletes from Hwa Chong Institution and Singapore Sports School. Kipketer will also be conducting a session with athletes and teachers from Raffles Institution this week.

Some of the national coaches and athletes who have met Kipketer include SAA’s national middle and long distance coach, G. Elangovan, who coaches the top junior girls and boys in the 400m and 800m.

Among the athletes that Kipketer has coached is 17-year-old Zachary Ryan Devaraj, who is sixth on the fastest 800m all-time list run by a Singaporean. The YOG athlete, who was singled out by Kipketer as a runner with potential, was last year’s B Division National Inter-School Cross-Country champion, and was also part of the Singapore 4x400m relay team that won bronze last year at the ASEAN Schools Games.

“It is unusual for an athlete of Wilson’s stature to stay in a country for such an extended period of time, and he has been working very closely with us to engage and inspire our young athletes,” explained Mr. Kunalan.

As part of SAA’s youth development programme with Wilson, a training session for around 40 promising junior runners from schools like Hwa Chong Institution and Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) was conducted by Wilson Kipketer at the CCAB Bukit Timah today.

Kipketer gave the athletes tips on their running technique, exercises for core strengthening, and led them on drills and stretches on the track.

Zachary Devaraj, who participated in the drills with Kipketer, said, “It was a great experience getting to learn from one of the world’s best runners. I’ve watched Wilson’s runs on YouTube and never imagined I would get the chance to run with him. It was a useful session as I learned tips on my running technique. Wilson has inspired me as he shared that his own running technique was not perfect when he was young, but he improved and worked on perfecting it over the years.”

“I wanted to come to Singapore to motivate the young athletes here, as I believe that they have the potential to do better. If they are able to understand the basics of running better, they will be able to improve on their techniques with the right training,” said Kipketer.

Mr Tang Weng Fei, president of SAA, articulated the association’s continued emphasis on youth athlete development: “SAA will continue to think of ways to help our athletes develop to their fullest potential, be it through overseas training trips or interaction with top names in the sport, as we work towards our vision of developing Singapore as South East Asia’s top athletics nation.”