Commentary: ‘Walking away from swimming is not failure’ – Joscelin Yeo on life beyond the pool

WALKING AWAY IS NOT FAILURE

When I finally accepted that the fire was dead for good, my only choice forward was to retire.

Life was a buffet, and it was time for me to explore other cuisines in the spread; me as a sister, a friend, a partner, a parent, a colleague, a staff, an entrepreneur, a business owner, a recreational athlete, the list was long.

The transition proved to be a journey in its own right. I had to change my mindset, recognising that swimming was something I did, and not who I was. I had to repaint expectations of myself and the expectations that others had of me.

Swimming did not define my life; I defined my life. Walking away from swimming was not failure, failure was me not being true to myself. And being true to myself meant that it took courage and strength to know when to walk away from everything I knew and to start afresh.

Strength does not come from a physical capacity, but from an indomitable will. Just because your appetite has changed, doesn’t mean you’re not hungry anymore. It just means that you’re now hungry for something different.

In transition, there’s also translation. I had to learn to translate the life lessons sport had given me into a new context because I needed them to be successful again. I did not look at transition as a new identity I had to build, instead, I looked at transition as a chance to build upon my identity as an athlete, to build a bigger network of support, and to once again, challenge myself to accomplish what I never thought possible.

To Joseph Schooling, thank you for sharing your sporting journey with us and allowing us to experience Singapore’s Olympic glory as we lived vicariously through you in that 50.39 seconds. You have everything it takes to be successful in your next phase of life. Keep dreaming and chasing those big dreams of yours! Yours truly, Jos.

Former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo is a four-time Olympian who also won 40 gold medals in the SEA Games during her 17-year swimming career. Yeo, a former Nominated Member of Parliament, is now the co-founder of Into The Wild, which organises wilderness camps for children.