I had the pleasure of interviewing this lad who is a promising young talent. A quiet young man who lets his legs do much of the talking. What i was impressed most was the family support that was behind him and his down to earth nature. Coached by his uncle Hamkah & Mr Tang

1. How did you get started with Track & Field

   Izwan: After watching my uncle (Hamkah Afik, SEA Games 200m silver medalist), i was tempted to join. Though i train for athletics i was also playing for Tampines Rovers FC youth soccer but i had to decide .. soccer or track. I choose the latter as track appeals to me more

2. What are your pet events

   Izwan: I’m taking 100/200m where i’ve a personal best 10.8 HT & 11.1 ET for 100m. As for 200m 22.9 HT & 23.2 ET. I was honoured to be featured in Straits Times Top50. I was also lucky to be choosen to represent Singapore for World Junior Championships in Jamaica. The 4x100m team broke the national junior record with a time of 41.78s and ranked 16th overall

3. How many times do you train per week

   Izwan: I train daily, sometime 3 times a day

4. On normal days, what are your training like?

   Izwan: On some days i’ll do 150m/200m. I train 2 times a day normally. My uncle has a gym, so i go there for my weights training. Also 4 times a month, i’ll do plyometrics and resistance training. Also ido marathon drills

5. Any injury plaguing you before

   Izwan: Well i usually have hamstring strains and a pull couple of times. It runs in the family i guess

6. Do you take care of your nutrition?

   Izwan: Yeah i do, i eat a high protein diet. Morning i have to eat cereal, lunch some rice & veggies and dinner some rice again.

7. Did SARS affect your training?

   Izwan: No … i kept on training. The lesser the people, the better

8. Being a sportsman, it’s hard to juggle school & training. How do you mange your time? Did it affect your social life?

   Izwan: I have a timetable to follow plus i have a doting mum .. who always urge me to sleep early. I guess you have to be displine. Also i have my parents support. Being involved in Track & Field is a family affair for us. My grandad, father and my 2 cousin used to run too

9. Other than track, what else do you do?

   Izwan: I play pool, more of a weekend warrior, erm surf the net alot like footlocker.com for sports shoe. I also bowl, i’m not a bad bowler in fact

10. Where are your favourite hangout?

    Izwan: As i live in east area, Tampines vicinity of course. Though i make a trip to Orchard and hang out at Suntec

11. What songs do you listen to?

    Izwan: I listen to classical as it’s relaxing and refreshing. Also i’m into rap such as Eminem and punk bands such as sum41

12. Your uncle won a 200m silver medal at SEA Games 1993, where were you?

    Izwan: I was at the finishing line, beside my uncle. I remembered holding Singapore flag. That night the whole family went to dinner. It was a big family affair. I always gets goosebumps when i see my uncle run. I was also there there my uncle pulled his hamstring for the following 1995 SEA Games. He was in lane 5, i was watching it live on TV. He was the favourite to win the Gold and the whole family really felt the disappointment

13. So where are you studying now?

    Izwan: I’m taking my private ‘O’s now. I plan to go to Temasek Poly. I was formerly from Ngee Ann Secondary and Loyang Primary. It was only in secondary 3 that i decide to train serious for Track & Field. I train with Mr Tang

14. How do you prepare before a race?

    Izwan: The main thing is not to feel nervous, if i do feel it, i’ll do an 80m all out. I’ll stick to gameplan where i’ll do my normal training warmup, then i’ll relax and rest 30min before a race. I’ll also listen to music such as classical or rap. I also have a tradition to eat snickers before a race

15. What is the last advice given to you by your coach

    Izwan: He would tell me to go final. He would also say to stay confident but not over confident

16. What are usually your race tactics?

    Izwan: I would have a slow start, follow the lead pack and then pull away after 50m. I like to play catch-up

17. Competitions won?

    Izwan: Nothing major, I did reach the semifinals in 200m in my first overseas competition, the Asian Cities Games in Macau

18. Ultimate Goal

    Izwan: To be top few elite and to be the best

19. Goals for this year?

    Izwan: Personal best in the national junior and for the upcoming Singapore Open, a personal best and a semi-final expectation

20. Any last comments and advise for young athletes?

    Izwan: Displine in training. I would like to share a quote by my uncle “Popularity is not the thing. Winning isn’t everything, doing PB is my target. I’ll slowly wait and be prepared”

Izwan went on to qualify for the National Juniors 2003 finals for both 100m (11.24s) & 200m (23.04s)