Sprinting Towards Success

Delving into the personal life of National Sprinter Timothee Yap. The 21-year-old clocked 10.79 seconds to finish 8th with Champion Usain Bolt at the first round heat at Rio Olympic 2016.

- Rachel Yohannan

As a kid, Timothee had always been a fast runner, so it was only natural that he joined the Track and Field CCA in his school. He first started running competitively in 2009 and from there rose up the ranks, eventually getting into the National team. As we are typing this, the 22-year-old NUS Law student is at the Rio Olympics representing our little red dot in the 100m Sprint, as a result of having the highest points among all the other Singaporean athletes in his category.

When he’s off-season, the charismatic and confident sprinter enjoys engaging in other sports like basketball, soccer, and swimming. He also loves a good game of Fifa on the PlayStation.

Citing Usain Bolt as his role model, Timothee’s goal for the Olympics is to clock a timing below 10.50s, beating his personal best of 10.62s. Go, Timothee! We’re rooting for you.

Timothee reveals a little more about himself, telling us over a casual lunch about his travels, pre competition rituals, and more:

What’s one thing you’ve gained from running?

“I’ve gained everything, man! When my friends think of me, the one thing that comes to their minds is sprinting/running/track. It’s synonymous with me and part of my identity already. The sport has given me friends, good health, values like discipline and focus, and a Direct School Admission placing into Hwa Chong. It also gave me opportunities to go overseas and to mingle with the world’s best. Recently in June I was in Europe for a month for a training and competition circuit with a group from the National Team. We started in Germany and made our way to Portugal and Spain.”

So, you’re quite the traveller?