Strength in Grace
The clock is ticking. Displaying a mesmerising combination of a physical agility, strength, and stamina, she executes her jumps, her body a vision of athletic grace on the 10cm-wide, 5m-long balance beam, a look of concentration on her face. Finally, she lands on the floor with a perfectly executed twist and jump, a wide smile on her face.
One can only imagine the breadth of exertions and emotions that an artistic gymnast like Farah Ann Abdul Hadi goes through during a competition—all that training culminating in executing that one flawless performance, which lasts only one and a half minutes. They live and breathe for this, with the goal of being the best they can be.
It’s every athlete’s dream to compete at the Olympics, and for 26-year-old Farah Ann, it’s a dream come true when she finally earned her spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the big disappointment of missing out on the 2016 Rio Games by a mere 0.1 margin.
Recalling the time she learnt that she qualified, Farah was a bundle of nerves as she waited to hear the official results together with her teammates Tracie Ang and
