Fit and Focused

Despite their demanding jobs, Karen Puah and Datuk Jake Abdullah carve time out of their schedules to stay healthy

- Aaron Pereira and Koyyi Chin.

GIVING IT HER ALL

Karen Puah’s femur first snapped during a bouldering incident; her bone had been clearly broken in two places, one of them just shy of piercing her skin entirely.

With a metal rod keeping her bone in place months later after two surgeries, Puah is taking an active rest, moving from one place to another still, regardless of the traumatic incident.

“It didn’t make me swear off rock climbing at all,” says Puah. “In fact, I just look at it like I’ve always looked at any obstacle or problem in my life: ‘what could I have done to avoid this incident?’ or ‘what can I do next time to prevent this from happening ever again?’”

At 50, Puah doesn’t look her age at all—nor does she allow it to define her choices in life. With 30 years of rock-climbing experience under her belt and also a Spartan Trifecta medallist, this fintech trailblazer’s motto in life is this: it is either 100 per cent, or nothing at all.

She made a point to instil this in all three of her children as well: her eldest was a taekwondo champ who did triathlons and ran for the state; her second child a competitive swimmer and her youngest a windsurfer.

“In whatever I do, whether it’s marathons, races or sports, I aim for the highest level possible,” Puah states. “And that’s to reach a competitive level! I like to push myself to my limits, and that rush of being able to conquer a challenge is always exhilarating.”