545am: groans and moans as teamSG was rudely awaken from their deep slumber in preparation for a gruelling day of events. A quick breakfast of bread and sausages, and teamSG were off to the Darwin Wave Lagoon, an artificial wave swimming location for the morning surf race events.
The Surf Race events at Darwin Wave Lagoon kicked off with the Torpedo Tube Rescue. The team consisting of Nick, Hisham, Enid and NIcole was up against formidable opponents and despite their best efforts, managed only a fourth in their semi-finals and did not make it for the final.
Next event was the Surf Race (Team). The guys team consisted of Allen, Jun Song and Nick. The girls team consisted of Nicky, Huey Min and Enid. teamSG were no match for the larger and more experienced Australians who simply ran across the waves in shallow waters, while our smaller sized team were simply pushed back by 2metres waves in rapid frequency. It was indeed an chastening experience for us, who seldom experience such waves in Singapore. Full-marks and medals for teamSG lifesavers though for the effort and the sacrifice of swallowing up litres of water!
The 3rd event was the Surf Race (individual). Nicole gave a brave performance but once again was overwhelmed by the Australians. Hisham failed to qualify for the finals in a star-studded semi-finals. However, Jun Song managed to qualify for the finals, but he only managed an 8th position in the final swim.
The Surf Race concluded the events of the morning, and teamSG rushed back to the hostel for a quick rendezvous with their beds, in preparation for the evenings’ beach events, which includes the beach sprint, beach relay and beach flags.
The beach events did stared well with Huey Min qualifying for the finals in the beach sprints, Jun Song and Allen also managed to qualify for the beach sprint finals. In the final, Jun Song and Huey Min finished a dismal 8th. Allen however, gave an arm (almost literally!!) for Singapore as he blasted his way to finish 3rd. unfortunately, in the process, he fell down after the finish line and fractured a small bone in his shoulder-blade. The injury seemed serious initially and medics took nearly an hour before ascertaining they could move him. Allen was then transferred to the hospital, with Manager Gary and roommate Hisham accompanying him. It was a bittersweet moment for Allen, after having won 3rd, the injury meant he would need around 6 weeks to recover and will almost certainly rule him out for the rest of the games, and possibly from many more medals.
Having lost Allen and Hisham, the Singapore guys team was left with Nick and Jun Song to hold the fort for beach relay. After much discussion, they decided that 2 senior Northern Territory lifesavers, Sam and Nathan, would help Singapore to run. The team managed to clinch 2nd position. No doubt such a result/event can only cement the relationships between Singapore and Australian lifesavers and cheers, congratulations and smiles were aplenty.
The next event was the beach flags. Huey Min did Singapore proud as she gave an all-star performance, often reacting faster and running clear of her opponents to safely grab a flag. She qualified for the finals and was doing extremely well, before an unfortunate trip ended her medal hopes. She finished in 5th position. Nick, Jun Song and Enid failed to qualify for the finals, but also did Singapore proud by fighting for every flag as hard as they could.
In the end, despite the tragic and unfortunate incident with Allen, it was a good day of events, as teamSG managed to clinch a bronze medal, and many hidden talents were uncovered.
Jun Song
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