Written by: Bobby Cai Rong Edited by: Choa Zhao Xiang and Leung Lok Heng Photos by: EusoffWorks and SMC Publicity
Track and field is the mother of all sports. While there is a whole array of track and field events, the Inter Hall Game captures the most exciting ones: 4 x 100m relay, 4 x 400m relay, and Medley race.
Track is a sport that requires discipline, grit and explosiveness. In the short span of a couple of seconds and minutes, one has to battle against the pain of lactic acid and the lack of oxygen. What’s more gruesome is the amount of time needed to perfect one single technique, for just for a brief moment of glory, or even defeat.
Ritz and Emma are this year’s track captains.
Leading the team this year is a track veteran, Ritz Ong. Behind Ritz’s amiable and calm demeanor lies an undying passion for sprinting and fitness. Ritz has been working tirelessly on the track since Secondary school, clenching multiple medals along the journey. On top of his duty as a captain, Ritz’s relentless pursuit of excellence continues outside of hall as he trains alongside with the IVP track and field team.
What we see as spectators is actually a tiny aspect of track. In reality, the trainings are incredibly painful endeavor. Ritz agrees on the less appealing aspects of the sport: “Any distance longer than 200 meters is painful, and the only way to improve is to continuously put yourself through intervals, pyramid workouts, and long runs.”
Lightning quick on his feet, Ritz is ready to lead his team to victory.
Track training is also led by Emma, the Track girls captain. Despite being one of the very few freshman captains, Emma displays traits of a dedicated athlete and a mature leader. As an athlete, Emma is extremely hard on herself, forever pushing herself to do more in spite of injuries and fatigue. Just like Ritz, Emma is a decorated and experienced tracker. She started her track journey way back in Secondary School and has been at it ever since.
Dedicated, competent and experienced – is what everyone in the track team says about Emma. However, when asked about her goals for the team, the stringent and almost cruel expectations dissipates. She smiled and replied: “It is easy to enforce hitting certain timing as our goal but that’s not what I hope for. What’s more meaningful is making progress as a team.”
With her infectious enthusiasm, Emma is a respected and well-liked captain to her team.
Outside of training, the track team is a fun bunch. The banter and get-togethers initiated by Ritz and Emma breathe life into the hectic undergraduate schedule. However, the captains remain driven to train hard and to lead well. Both find great satisfaction in seeing personal improvement, as well as seeing the team’s collective effort to improve. With all that being said, let’s encourage Ritz, Emma and the rest of the Eusoff trackers for the upcoming IHG season!
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