PUSHING THE LIMITS

Want to get started on an endurance exercise regime but don't know how? We get advice from female athletes who are stretching their physical limits in triathlons, cycling, freediving, and long-distance swimming.

- SAMANTHA DAVID

How far can you swim while holding your breath underwater? For freediver Patricia Paige Ong, it was a record-breaking 174m in a single breath with the use of bi-fins at the International Association for the Development of Apnea (AIDA) Panglao Pool Championship Finale in the Philippines in April 2022. And just last December, the 33-year-old achieved another national record when she swam a distance of 200m with a monofin.

These personal bests came two years after Patricia started freediving, an interest she picked up from an encounter in Indonesia.

"I was a newbie scuba diver exploring the waters off Gili Meno in Indonesia when I saw a man swim down to check out a turtle I was also looking at. Unlike me, he had no breathing apparatus," she shares.

Patricia plans to continue training to test her body to "see how long, how far, and how deep I can go". And she is not alone in her endeavour.

There are others like pro cyclist Chelsie Tan, the first Singapore woman to earn a pro contract with an Australian team to race in Europe in 2021, and swimmer Li Ling Yung-Hryniewiecki, who swam 34km across the English Channel in under 13 hours. These amazing feats of endurance prove that women are just as - if not more capable than their male counterparts when it comes to extreme sports.

For sports enthusiasts and beginners keen on following in the footsteps of Patricia, Chelsie and Li Ling, the first step to starting an endurance regime lies in (ironically) knowing your limits.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR BODY AND ITS LIMITATIONS