Burning Passion On The Ice
Student Feature – Ryo Ong Yik
When Ryo Ong Yik was a student at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School, he was part of the school’s Track and Field team, but he was more interested in racing on ice. At 8 years old, he was already marking his path on the ice skating rink. By 9 years old, he started participating in various competitions, and was winning medals! Encouraged by his good performance on the rink, he trained hard and continued to pursue the sport seriously.
With the goal of representing Singapore in Ice Skating, he chose to join Singapore Sports School at Secondary 1 to take advantage of the School’s athlete-friendly programme.
“I train around 14 hours per week, which consists of 2 times on ice and 4 times on land. The Sports School environment allowed me to have a more flexible training and competition schedule while juggling schoolwork. When I am away for competition, my teachers were also very supportive as they helped me in my studies by giving me make-up lesson. I was also able to catch up on my school work through e-learning when I am away for competitions,” shared the Secondary 4 student-athlete.
In a bid to qualify Singapore for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the national short-track speed skater took Leave of Absence in 2022 to focus on his training in South Korea.
“When I decided to take a gap year to train overseas, it was extremely challenging for me as I had to be away from my family for quite some time. With their support and encouragement, I persevered and stay focused on training hard,” shared Ryo, who knew his sacrifices and hard work had paid off qualified to compete in the Winter Youth Olympic Games, which will be held from 20 January to 2 February 2024.
This hard-earned achievement came after the Secondary 4 student-athlete finished 27th out of 63 skaters who competed at the 2023 ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships from 27 to 29 January 2023 held in Dresden, Germany.
Although the final selection to compete at the Games will only be finalised in December, Ryo is confident that he will be able to represent Singapore. In an interview with The Straits Times, he said: “As long as I put in my best, I trust that my years of training and skills and experience acquired will put me in a good position of being selected.”
With the aim to break into top 10 placing and break the national record at the Games, Ryo will be heading to South Korea to train further after his GCE O-Level examinations.
When Ryo Ong Yik was a student at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School, he was part of the school’s Track and Field team, but he was more interested in racing on ice. At 8 years old, he was already marking his path on the ice skating rink. By 9 years old, he started participating in various competitions, and was winning medals! Encouraged by his good performance on the rink, he trained hard and continued to pursue the sport seriously.
With the goal of representing Singapore in Ice Skating, he chose to join Singapore Sports School at Secondary 1 to take advantage of the School’s athlete-friendly programme.
“I train around 14 hours per week, which consists of 2 times on ice and 4 times on land. The Sports School environment allowed me to have a more flexible training and competition schedule while juggling schoolwork. When I am away for competition, my teachers were also very supportive as they helped me in my studies by giving me make-up lesson. I was also able to catch up on my school work through e-learning when I am away for competitions,” shared the Secondary 4 student-athlete.
In a bid to qualify Singapore for the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the national short-track speed skater took Leave of Absence in 2022 to focus on his training in South Korea.
“When I decided to take a gap year to train overseas, it was extremely challenging for me as I had to be away from my family for quite some time. With their support and encouragement, I persevered and stay focused on training hard,” shared Ryo, who knew his sacrifices and hard work had paid off qualified to compete in the Winter Youth Olympic Games, which will be held from 20 January to 2 February 2024.
This hard-earned achievement came after the Secondary 4 student-athlete finished 27th out of 63 skaters who competed at the 2023 ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships from 27 to 29 January 2023 held in Dresden, Germany.
Although the final selection to compete at the Games will only be finalised in December, Ryo is confident that he will be able to represent Singapore. In an interview with The Straits Times, he said: “As long as I put in my best, I trust that my years of training and skills and experience acquired will put me in a good position of being selected.”
With the aim to break into top 10 placing and break the national record at the Games, Ryo will be heading to South Korea to train further after his GCE O-Level examinations.
