SINGAPORE: Pole vaulter Rachel Isabel Yang cleared 3.83m at the Malaysia Open on Sunday (Mar 29), setting a new national record and taking home the gold medal.
In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, she credited the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew for her win.
“Dear Mr Lee, I competed in memory of you at Malaysia Open today. Before each of my attempts, I told myself, ‘Mr Lee, this is for you, I will make you proud’,” Ms Yang wrote.
She said she had not been able to come close to clearing that height in her last few competitions, and was battling with negative thoughts before she competed.
“Because of all these challenges, I was swarmed by negativity. But your passing has made me realise that what I am facing is nothing, really nothing. I shouldn’t be bothered by haters because the more successful you are, the more the haters you will get. Today, I let go of every negative thought and I only thought about you,” Ms Yang wrote.
While Ms Yang said she failed at her first attempt, she went back to her start point and tried again.
“I did it and I will do better … Thank you, sir for being a role model and inspiration,” she wrote.
From: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/athletics-rachel-yang/1752536.html
