Strength in Grace

From national gymnast hero to having a Barbie doll moulded after her, Farah Ann Abdul Hadi spills the beans on what it takes to be a champion

- Elizabeth Soong

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 Tan Ing Yueh, who were with her at the 2019 Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. When the results finally came out late that night, Farah was so relieved she cried happy tears and immediately sent her family a text to share the good news: “Tokyo, here we come!”

When she called her parents the next morning, “My dad was like, [over Zoom, Farah mimicked her dad, sniffing to hold back his emotions] and he was saying we’re all very proud of you.”

She beams, “I couldn’t believe that the dream that I’ve had for so long, finally came true. I’m very happy and very grateful to be given the opportunity to represent Malaysia at the Olympics.”