You may remember him as the man who scaled Everest twice. Or the man who climbed Shishapangma without oxygen. Or the man who cycled from Singapore to Beijing. The list just goes on. Well, whatever it is you remember him for, Khoo Swee Chiow is just about to give you another reason not to forget his name. This morning, Youth.SG spoke to the larger-than-life Khoo about his latest record-breaking attempt, as well as his views on Singapore’s bid for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Khoo’s latest endeavour will see him attempt to surpass the current record for the world’s longest distance covered on skates - currently standing at 4,175 km - to an amazing new distance of 6,000 km within a hundred days.

Speaking to the media at a press conference, Khoo was all smiles and beaming from ear to ear as he spoke enthusiastically about his next adventure. Strapped in full-body skating gear (with rollerblades), Khoo explained the objectives for this attempt and gave everyone a brief outline of the route he would be taking. Set to begin on October 16, the journey will see Khoo freewheeling through Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam before wrapping up his trip in Singapore by late January 2008.

“The reason why I’m doing this is to raise awareness on energy conservation,” he said.

Indeed, a noble cause behind an inspiring act.

Youth.SG also took the opportunity to ask Khoo for his views on Singapore’s bid for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. Some of you probably know about our nation’s bid by now. For those of you who don’t know, well now you do! (It’s no state secret, really). Over the coming months, Singapore will do its very best to show the world that we are the best possible place to host this distinguished event.

Speaking to Youth.SG, Khoo was full of positivity: “Go for it! It’s something we’ve never done before. We’ll be breaking new grounds! I think we should definitely do our best.”

Apt words from the record-breaking man himself. Can you imagine what it would be like if the bid is successful? That would see thousands of young talented athletes from all over the world converging at the tiny island of Singapore. Surely that would propel Singapore’s sporting arena to much greater heights – something we’ve been trying to do for some time now.  

Khoo agreed: “From a sporting angle, it would definitely elevate Singapore as a venue for youths and sports, that’s for sure.”

Not to mention the amount of attention we’ll receive worldwide. Hosting an event of this magnitude, Singapore would surely be thrust into the media spotlight, with news and sports channels featuring our little island prominently throughout the games.

Khoo also felt that hosting such a prolific international sports event would benefit Singapore in terms of priceless exposure and experience.

It can be as simple as striking up a friendship with athletes from all over the world. Plus, our local athletes – not wanting to let Singapore down on home soil – would surely take their efforts up a notch and who knows, we might be collecting a couple of medals! This writer strongly feels that our young national representatives - badminton players, swimmers, runners and all – should keep on training hard, and keep their fingers crossed!
 
Khoo also stressed, “I think it’s very important to be true to yourself, to be true to your passion – if you love something, go for it. Don’t bother about what other people say too much, there’ll always be a hundred and one voices, but as long as you stay true to yourself and do your best and constantly try to improve, I think you’ll be able to go very far.”

Inspirational words from a man who invokes inspiration himself. We wish Khoo Swee Chiow all the best in his record breaking attempt! Do us proud!

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