ON THE FASTTRACK

Give him wheels and he's bound to speed, but he'll never get a ticket for his kind of speeding. Meet 3rd Sergeant (3SG) (NS) Jireh Goh, the 22-year-old speed skater who can travel at speeds that will have some cyclists eating his dust.

It took just half an hour for 3SG (NS) Goh to discover he was a natural at skating. Truth be told, he did fall a few times on that first try, but the recreational skater, who got his first pair of roller blades when he was seven, has been picking up speed ever since.

By the age of 15, he had picked up freestyle skating, which comprises mainly slides and slalom.

"Freestyle slalom is performing tricks while skating around a line of cones, while slides involve skating very fast before coming to a sudden halt, causing the skater to drift for a distance," he explained.

His accolades in the field of freestyle skating are numerous, and they include winning the 2008 World Freestyle Skating Championship (WFSC) in Singapore and the speed slalom category of the 2010 and 2011 Singapore National Freestyle Skating Championship.

In March, he ventured into speed skating and barely six months into the training, the speedster already holds a personal record of 29.3 seconds for a 300m sprint. In layman terms, it just means giving him a wide berth when he's on his wheels.

PNR: What sparked your interest in skating?
3SG (NS) Goh: I first saw someone skating on TV when I was seven, and as I thought it was fun, I got my mum to buy me my first pair of skates. I was obese when I was a child and I didn't like to run, so skating was the only way I could get around fast. In fact, skating was the only exercise I did when I was younger.

Why the switch to speed skating?
Speed skating requires more cardiovascular fitness; it's more physically challenging than freestyle skating, so it helps to build my aerobic ability and muscular endurance.

Do you have a fear of falling?
Yes, especially after a bad fall when I first went into speed skating. But I think this fear is necessary, so that you won't be overly confident... and it reminds you not to be reckless and push yourself too hard during competitions. I will never allow myself to go to the extent where I put my life at risk when skating.

What do you like most about skating?
Definitely the speed, and the challenge of going beyond physical limitations. For example, you can't move faster than vehicles when you run, but if you're on skates, you can possibly be faster than motorcycles.

What are some of your achievements in skating?
Besides what's already mentioned, I also came in 2nd in the WFSC in Shanghai, and in the slides category of the Paris Slalom World Championship, both held in 2009.

How did you keep up with training during your National Service (NS) days?
As a fitness specialist and junior instructor at the Army Fitness Centre, I had the opportunity to train in the gym and do runs and swims. I also learnt a lot about how to do various kinds of physical training, so my NS stint actually boosted my skating performance.

How do you juggle work and training now?
Since my Operationally Ready Date in August, I've been working in my Dad's company that provides electrical services. Sometimes, I can get so carried away with my work that I forget all about my training routine and daily exercise, so now, I commit myself to exercising at least five times a week.

What's next for you?
My current target is to achieve a 300m sprint in under 28 seconds. To international skaters, it's not a significant target, but it's a big step for me as I'm still new to speed skating, and I have to brush up on a lot of techniques.

I'm training for the Asian Games next year, and that will be my chance to see how much I've improved since I started on speed skating. I'm also looking for more people who have the potential to join me in this sport, so that Singapore can win more competitions on the international stage.

Speed skating is not big in Singapore yet, because there isn't a proper location or space to train. My wish is that in Singapore, there can be a track specially built for us to train our techniques in speed skating. That way, it would be a lot safer for us and for the public.