THROWING LIGHT ON CANCER

Discus king Wong, 55, shares his triumph over the disease in his book The Last Gold

- Kimberly Kwek

For a brief period in the early 1990s, Singaporean thrower James Wong spent time on the field running and tackling, instead of hurling a discus into the distance.

The towering 1.91m athlete dabbled in American football while studying at the Mt San Antonio College in California in an attempt to secure a scholarship.

This was after the Singapore Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA) and the Singapore Sports Council – now known as Singapore Athletics and Sport Singapore respectively – withdrew his scholarship support following a disappointing outing at the 1991 SEA Games.

Touted as a gold medal hopeful, he came home empty-handed from Manila, after clinching a discus bronze and silver at the 1987 and 1989 editions respectively.

With six months till his graduation from college, Wong, who still had the support of one corporate sponsor, was determined to remain in the United States, where he was also training.

While his stint in American football was short-lived, it demonstrated his grit and determination to succeed.