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Ryan Lo’s path to the Paris Olympics was perhaps less dramatic than a lot of other athletes, but his desire for glory is no less intense.
He secured an Olympic quota spot for Singapore as early as 27 September 2023, when he took home the gold medal in the ILCA7 event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but he is just getting started.
As he told Shin Min Daily News in October 2023, the biggest regret in his career was missing out on the Optimist World Championship title back in 2011, as he came in fourth in that competition.
Even as Lo, the current world No. 10, sets his sights on a world title, the Olympics is similarly high on his radar, and the team behind him stands ready to help him deliver his best performance at the Marseille Marina, where the sailing events of the 2024 Games will be held.
Family: the anchor in Ryan’s life
Due to factors such as wind speed, there are very few suitable training venues for Singapore’s national sailors. As a result, Lo and other national sailors have been training mostly in Europe.
Flying Singapore’s flag in the sailing circuit means very little family time for national sailors such as Lo. (Photo credit: Singapore Sailing Facebook)
For Lo, this means he spends 8 months in a year outside of Singapore, with very little time together with his family. Even the Chinese New Year in 2024 was the first one he spent at home in four or five years, where he got a shock from the speed at which his nieces and nephews were growing up!
Yet he is quick to pay tribute to his family when speaking to Channel NewsAsia: “(It’s been) about 19 years that I’ve been sailing. My family has always been there from the beginning and I could not have been where I'm at without all their support and guidance.”
In particular, Ryan credited his mother Dolly Lo for her love and concern, even as he spends long periods of time away from home.
“She (has) been supporting me since young when I started sailing all the way till now, supporting any decision I make to help me excel in sailing. Giving me advice and always supporting me in good and bad times, without putting any pressure (on me) to perform or (for me) to move on to other aspects of life, like education or work”"
Fuelling passion through nutrition
Spending time outside of home also means taking independent care of one’s daily life, of which nutrition is a huge part, and this is even more so for an elite athlete.
This was a problem for Lo when he was younger, and he recounted to The Straits Times how his dietitian helped him out when he had difficulties with cooking back when he was 1: “She would teach me easy dishes like chilli con carne or spaghetti bolognaise, which can be made in big batches and eaten over two to three meals.”
Carbohydrates like spaghetti help to support the sailors’ high energy expenditure as they have to handle long hours on the water in challenging conditions, says Singapore Sports Institute (SSI) dietitian Parimala, but nutrition plans are never a one-size-fits-all affair.
“Their needs are highly dependent on their nutrition status, training regimen, competition schedule, performance goals, practical challenges, health and personal preferences. With this information, a personalised nutrition plan is carefully crafted. In addition, these requirements are not static throughout the year and must be tailored based on the athlete's objectives both in-season and off-season.”
Becoming faster and stronger to finish higher
Nutrition and training go hand-in-hand in any athlete’s training regime, and Lo is similarly quick to credit his coach and the sports scientists he works with. As he told Channel NewsAsia in May 2024, "The biggest change I would say (is that) I've gotten faster. I take a lot of pride in the work that I've done with my coach and the team of sports scientists," said Lo.
These improvements made it possible for Lo to clinch the Asian Games gold medal last year, at the third time of asking. "It definitely gave me a lot of confidence and assurance that I was on the right track," said Lo. "It also showed me that there were quite a lot of areas which I needed to further work on and improve which we did address in this last few months."
Lo in action at the ILCA 7 Senior European Championship in November 2022, where he finished 12th, making him the only Asian sailor in the top 20 for the championship. (Photo credit: Singapore Sailing Facebook)
Strength and conditioning coach Ranald Joseph shares with us his journey with Lo over the past decade: “We looked at trying to get Ryan to be a lot stronger and (develop greater endurance). He’s also had various physiologists who have worked with him over the years to improve the cardiovascular aspect.”
“In the more recent years, especially as we get towards the second Olympics for Ryan, it’s really been about trying to blend in everything: the physical work, the sailing work, the travelling and doing just about the right amount of everything to keep him injury free, (while trying to) get into that ideal performing state.”
“What we have seen over the years is, different markers have improved steadily over time. He has gotten stronger, his cardiovascular fitness has improved, and these have contributed to him feeling better and performing better on the water.”
If everything comes together for Lo as they did in Hangzhou last year, a medal race could be within his grasp at this year’s Games. Yet come what may, Lo will probably be as quick to credit his family and the team behind him for their support, and continue to rely on them throughout his sailing career.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games takes place in Paris, France from 26 July to 11 August 2024. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website. You can also catch Team Singapore live in action in Paris on Singtel TV, CAST.SG and mewatch.
