Once a world champion sailor, Singapore's Cecilia Low aims to start afresh at the SEA Games – as a kitefoiler
She owns four Asian Games medals, a world title and a slice of local Olympic history. Now she's swapped her boat and sail for a board and hydrofoil.
Cecilia Low picked up kitefoiling late last year. (Photo: Stefanus Ian/Singapore Sailing Federation)
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SINGAPORE: It was in the wake of disappointment that a new opportunity surfaced for national sailor Cecilia Low.
After missing out on what would have been her second Olympic Games, the Singaporean was taking time off in France last year, and contemplating trying out other sports for fun.
It was then that Low, 34, struck up a conversation with the mother of compatriot and Olympic medallist Maximilian Maeder.
"I didn't want to sail anymore, but then I was (thinking) maybe I could try windsurfing ... And then Max's mum was like: 'Why don't you try kite?'" Low recalled.
She had seen kitefoiling competitions up close while on the sailing circuit, but had never considered picking it up.
Low found the suggestion "interesting", but it was only after being introduced to a former coach of Maeder's that she started trying out kitefoiling in earnest.
Less than a year later, Low could be the latest kitefoiler to represent Singapore, after the Singapore Sailing Federation nominated her for SEA Games selection.
Thailand will host the biennial event in December, with events held across Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla.
"AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER"
Low started sailing at the age of just eight, when her parents signed her and her sister up for lessons.
She went on to become one of Singapore's most successful athletes.
In 2010, Low combined with Rachel Lee to win Asian Games gold in the women's 420 class - a two-person sailing dinghy - and they followed up with a triumph at the 2012 World 420 Championships.
After Lee retired, Low teamed up with her sister Priscilla to win 2013 SEA Games gold in the 470 class, a more technical and challenging boat.
The sisters then took silver in the 29er, another sailboat class, in the following year's Asiad.
Low next joined forces with Kimberly Lim in 2015, and won gold three years in the 49er FX - a larger, faster skiff - at the 2018 Asian Games.
Competing in the same class, the duo made history for their country three years later as the first Singaporean sailors to qualify for a medal race at the Olympics, eventually finishing 10th overall in Tokyo.
Low and Lim then clinched a bronze at the 2023 Asian Games, but later missed out on a potential second Olympics in 2024 as they grappled with equipment changes in their class.
"There were expectations going forward, but they changed everything and it was very demoralising, like an emotional rollercoaster," Low recalled.
The plan was never to gun for more than two Olympic campaigns, and so this marked the end of their journey.
"I was very tired. And I needed a breather," said Low.
EMBRACING NEW CHALLENGES
Picking up kitefoiling - mere months later - was not without its challenges, even for a seasoned sailor like her.
For one, there is less sense of security being on the hydrofoil, a wing-like structure that lifts the rider above the water's surface, compared with being on a boat.
"You end up in the water more ... It was a bit scary because I didn't know how to control anything; I didn't know what to expect," said Low, recalling the first time she tried the sport in December last year.
Days later, she accidentally stepped on a sharp edge of the hydrofoil, slicing her toe open. She needed six stitches.
"It's part and parcel (of things)," Low said. "I kind of wasted half a week."
She has since grown to enjoy kitefoiling.
"It's quite exciting, to be honest. When I stopped falling into the water, it got more fun," said Low. "The feeling is totally new."
Earlier this year, Low also graduated with an aeronautics degree, after completing an internship with professional consultancy firm Deloitte.
She enjoyed the work but there were some things which took getting used to - in particular spending much of her time staring at screens.
"The first week, I went home with a headache," she recalled.
"(Work) was actually quite nice. The team I was in, they were very supportive, and they were teaching me a lot of things."
While Low was eventually offered a temporary role, she decided to focus fully on kitefoiling.
"I always put a goal (to what I want to do). This year, there's the SEA Games. So why not? If I can make it, I will be there," she said.
But this was a decision also made after much thought.
"I had a few considerations. One was that I'm not very young," she said. "There's not much time, you can't do this until you're 40 or 50 ... I would have to go up against people who have been kiting for more than 10 years."
Her parents were supportive of her, as always.
"I talked to a lot of people about it, because I didn't really know what to do ... I had a lot of people encourage me to try it out.
"If everybody has so much faith in me - then maybe I'll try it out and see how it goes."
Has it been worth it, however, putting herself through the rigour of high-performance sport all over again?
Low said it was about embracing new challenges. "I got bored of the same boat that I've seen sailing for nine years, and I was given the opportunity to try something new."
There was also the bonus of having the Maeders' help as she embarked on this new pursuit. "Without them, I would probably not even try out the sport," she said. "It's not an easy sport to pick up."
Her extensive sailing background has also admittedly equipped her with transferrable skills, such as how to approach a particular course and the perhaps intangible "feel" of - and for - the water.
Low is now a firm proponent of fellow sailors trying out kitefoiling.
"I would actually just tell them to give it a go. You never know which class (of sailing) you're going to be good at," she said.
Low, who has been training overseas this year, has not set a target for herself if she makes it to the SEA Games.
But she knows she could be in the unfamiliar position of the underdog. "I'll be the one that has the least experience in the class," said Low. "I will just give my best."
