Triathlete Winona sacrifices for her goal

SINGAPORE - Sitting down for a chat with Winona Howe can be an awkward experience when she is on her feet throughout the conversation, even if not by choice.

A recent accident while training on her bicycle left the triathlete with some bad abrasions on her upper thighs. Even sleeping has to be done face down.

Still, Winona waves it off. It is a small sacrifice, one of many she has had to make since becoming a national triathlete.

The 18-year-old has put her studies on hold since completing her O levels at the end of 2011 to focus on training full time.

She said: "It wasn't that hard a decision to make. The plan was to focus more on sports so that I can be more professional."

For someone who did her first triathlon only about three years ago, Winona - whose personal best over the sprint triathlon distance (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) is 1 hour and 9 minutes - harbours big dreams of becoming an Olympian.

She has twice represented Singapore at the Asian Triathlon Championships, finishing 18th at the 2011 edition in Taiwan and 15th in Japan last year.

She also flew the Republic's flag at the Asian Cycling Championships this year, finishing 11th - and the third South-east Asian - in the junior girls' time trial.

At the Cold Storage Singapore International Triathlon over the weekend, Winona was runner-up and the top Singaporean in the women's junior elite category with 1:14:29.

Her "No. 1 goal" now is to don national colours at the 2015 SEA Games here in Singapore, with plans to progress from sprint to the standard distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) from next year.

So she puts in the hours, clocks up the mileage and sweats it out over two sessions a day, six days a week.

She said: "When you have to push yourself so hard in three different sports, it's very tiring. Sometimes, you don't want to do it at all. But when you finish it, it feels like a humongous achievement. The kick is tremendous."

Winona has the full support of her mother, Sharon, an educator.

Said the single mum in her 40s: "I could see how tired and stressed up Winona was every day while she was juggling both studying and training. So rather than be burnt out at both ends, I let her focus on one.

"Education is a very long route. She can study later at any time she wants, whereas sport is something we have to develop at the right time."

Said Winona: "It will be very tough for me to get to the Olympics - but I just have to believe, train very hard and persevere."

maychen@sph.com.sg

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