Singapore vaulter trains for Asian Games

[rainbowgirl28]

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/sports/sto ... 82,00.html

Lots of muscles from this team player
By Ivan Lim
May 23, 2006

RACHEL Isabel Yang sports a healthy tan from the hours she's spent in the sun training to represent Singapore in women's pole vault at the Asian Games in December.

'I've done 3.8 metres and should be good enough for 4m by December,' she said confidently.

Very muscular and very fit, she has already unofficially bettered than the local women's record of 3.10m.


And why on earth is she so keen on soccer?

'I play it,' she said, looking at me as if I'd failed to see most obvious thing in the world.

'We use it as a form of cross training,' explained Rachel, who has taken a year off studies in Australia to take part in the Asian Games.

She'd declared earlier that she liked to do things differently - her tawny eyelashes fluttering over her bright-blue contact lenses. So why is she supporting Brazil, the team that almost everyone seems to be supporting?

'Well, I support Brazil because they play differently!' she said.

'What they do is fast-flowing and unusual, it's hard to predict what they are going to do, so it's not easy for other teams to deal with them.

'As an athlete, I also feel that they are technically very sound.

'They are also versatile, they are skilful and yet they're very strong in the area of teamwork,' explained Rachel.

But while individual athleticism is important to Rachel, teamwork for her is more critical. And she feels that Brazil have got it right, and that their coach is handling his stars perfectly - by not giving tham star treatment.

'If you make them feel like stars, they will start to behave like stars. And they won't cooperate with the rest of their team-mates,' says Rachel, who also coaches a primary school team in track and field events.

'You cannot make them feel like stars. You have to tame them. You cannot give them too much attention and you cannot make them feel too special. They must be made to understand that it's a team game. They'll be very hard to manage otherwise. And that is what's happening to a team like Real Madrid now!'

Rachel's intensity of character is obvious during our photoshoot and discussion.

She wanted to know what I was going to talk to her about before I had even said 'hello'.

And during the shoot, she said: 'I'm very inexperienced at this!'

But went on to strike pose after pose, straining every muscle in her body to make the perfect picture.