EMBRACING THE SPIRIT OF SPORTS
After her spectacular performances in 2015, Yang’s journey was marked with many ups and downs.
In 2017, she won a bronze medal in the SEA Games in Malaysia. However, a calf injury and a back injury caused her to miss the 2019 and 2021 SEA Games. She also performed poorly in the recent 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, in May, failing to clear her starting height of 3.5m.
“I had been posted to Montreal, Canada, for one-and-a-half months of work before the competition, and did not have time to arrange for training overseas. I only came back to Singapore three weeks before the SEA Games so I was not well prepared,” explained Yang, who is a consultant at Capgemini, a French multinational digital company.
“The conditions (in Cambodia) were very tough. I tried my best but it was unexpectedly hot – around 38 to 39 degrees Celsius, and the headwind was so strong that I couldn’t run in, get my speed or move my pole forward.
“Most of the other competitors also did not do well, and performed below their personal best,” she said. “Pole vaulters can’t always do their personal best. There are so many variables that one little change can affect your whole performance.”
Learning to cope with ‘failure’ is indeed a big part of pole vaulting, because the competition is structured such that athletes progressively attempt higher jumps until they find their personal limit, said Yang.