S1E17: Raising an Olympian in Singapore

What does it take for parents to nurture an athlete who wants to reach sport’s pinnacle? Synopsis: The Straits Times tackles the talking points in sport every second Wednesday of the month.  The Olympics is just around the corner and come July, several Team Singapore athletes will fly the flag for the Republic in Paris. Two of them, kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder and Singapore kayaker Stephenie Chen will make their Olympics debut.  Beyond their individual hustle to get to sports’ grandest stage, Maeder's and Chen’s journey to the Olympics has been helped by their families' relentless support. In this episode, Maximilian’s parents Valentin Maeder and Hwee Keng and Michael Chen and Sarah-Yvonne, parents of Stephenie, join sports reporter Deepanraj Ganesan to talk about how they have supported their children’s aspirations.  Highlights (click/tap above): 2:00 Did Maximilian Maeder's and Stephenie Chen’s parents have sporting backgrounds that influenced their kids?   13:10 Is there a point in which parents build a roadmap to sporting success?   17:40 Why is there a need to trust the experts and coaches as opposed to intervening?  21:12 Making sacrifices for your children when they pursue sports  26:28 Why parents should be a safe space for their children who pursue sports  35:00 Reacting to naysayers who say there is no future in sports Read: https://str.sg/DMK2 Produced by: Deepanraj Ganesan (gdeepan@sph.com.sg), Eden Soh and Amirul Karim  Edited by: Amirul Karim  Follow Hard Tackle every month here and get notified for new episode drops: Channel: https://str.sg/JWRE Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWRa Spotify: https://str.sg/JW6N SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Follow Deepanraj Ganesan on X: https://str.sg/wtra Read his articles: https://str.sg/ip4G Catch visual snippets of the podcast from ST's sports Instagram page: https://str.sg/vn2F --- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7  The Usual Place: https://str.sg/wEr7u COE Watch: https://str.sg/iTtE Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m Hard Tackle: https://str.sg/JWRE #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad Music Lab: https://str.sg/w9TX --- ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa --- Special edition series: True Crimes Of Asia (6 eps): https://str.sg/i44T The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuZ2 Invisible Asia (9 eps): https://str.sg/wuZn Stop Scams (10 eps): https://str.sg/wuZB Singapore's War On Covid (5 eps): https://str.sg/wuJa --- Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX #hardtackleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.