By Sasha Christian/Red Sports
Sean Lim prepares for his vault at the Singapore U-23 Open Championships. He cleared 4.83m to break the old record by 1cm. (Photo © Stanley Cheah/Red Sports)
Sean Lim, 20, set a new national pole vault record of 4.83m at the Singapore Under-23 Open Track and Field Championships held on October 6.
Sean, who trains just once a week due to National Service (NS), earned himself a spot in the 2013 South-East Asian (SEA) Games when he beat the qualifying mark of 4.70m by 0.13m.
We spoke to Sean about his recent success and his preparation for the upcoming games.
Sasha Christian: Tell me about how you started pole vaulting.
Sean Lim: I began pole vaulting at the age of 13 when I was a secondary 1 student at Hwa Chong Institution. After a few months of generalized training, trials for specific events were held with pole vault being one of them. The choice of which event we would like to specialize in was given to us. Pole vault being something I found unfamiliar yet fascinating back then was what compelled me to make my decision to train in the sport.
Has there been any sort of difficulties along the way?
Sean Lim: Yup! Pole vault being a rather unconventional sport to pursue in Singapore led my parents to be doubtful about what I was training for initially, but fortunately they’re fully supportive of it now.
Training and progress was greatly undermined by injuries I suffered training in the sport. I tore my left quadriceps and hamstring in separate incidents and the pain and long recovery time set me back quite a bit.
Balancing training and school was also a big challenge for me. Having to both maintain my grades and perform in training really took a toll on me, especially so during A-Levels two years ago. Fortunately, I learnt to cope and manage my time with experience and practice.
More recently, finding time and the motivation to train during NS. With only weekends as my only spare time for the bulk of my NS, it was both mentally and physically tiring as well as relatively time consuming to take time out to train.
With little training due to NS, how were you feeling prior the championships?
Sean Lim: I felt a lot of uncertainty and self-doubt. I had only begun training around five months prior to the championships after a two-year hiatus from pole vaulting and furthermore training had mainly been only once a week. So I was unsure if I could perform as well as I was expected to during the championships.
Congrats on breaking the national record! What was your initial reaction when you cleared 4.83m?
Sean Lim: Thank you! Surprised! I cleared 4.70m prior to 4.83m and was happy that I managed to clear it, as it was the qualifying mark for the upcoming SEA games. So when I crossed 4.83m I was in a state of pleasant disbelief the instant I knew I crossed it. But I was undoubtedly ecstatic soon after!
This will be your second SEA Games, right? What does being selected for the SEA Games mean to you?
Sean Lim: That’s correct. My first SEA Games was in 2009 in Laos. It’s of significant importance to me as it would be a great start to re-entering the pole vault scene once again after two years!
How will you be preparing for it?
Sean Lim: As of now, what I can do is squeeze out what time I have to go for trainings as I am still serving my NS. Due to the time constraints that restrict me from training as much as I would like, I would have to work towards making quality jumps during trainings to maximize the benefits of every single training session I attend.
While I’m in camp, I would try to take time out of the daily schedule to do my own training to supplement what I do out of camp.
What are your goals for the SEA Games?
Sean Lim: The best way I can put it is that my goals for the SEA Games would be at least to make it a more meaningful experience than my previous one. I had to withdraw prematurely from the last SEA Games due to a torn left hamstring during the competition. Anything more would be bonus for me!
Who has been the greatest pillars of support for you?
Sean Lim: My coach, David Yeo. I’ve known him for seven years and he’s not once given up on me, not even when I stopped training to focus on my A-Levels or when I enlisted for my NS. When I came back to training after around one and a half years he still believed in me and always set goals and sights for me to strive towards.
My parents. They’ve always been there supporting me and encouraging me when I did poorly or well in competitions or whenever I’ve had a hard day at training, often offering to fetch me to and fro from trainings knowing that I would be tired from travelling. They’ve always taught me to give it my all when pursuing something I have set my mind on doing and never to dwell on bad situation, but instead look forward and strive on.
All of us at Red Sports wish Sean Lim all the best at the 2013 SEA Games! Do drop Sean a note of support in the comments section. We’re sure he’ll appreciate it. Upload photos showing your support of Sean on Instagram using #ourteamsg, or on the campaign’s website: www.ourteamsg.com
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