Soh Rui Yong

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Chinese name, the family name is Soh.
Soh Rui Yong
1 soh rui yong 2021.jpg
Soh in 2021
Personal information
Born (1991-08-06) 6 August 1991 (age 30)
Singapore
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese苏睿勇[1]
Traditional Chinese蘇睿勇
Hanyu PinyinSū Ruìyǒng
Sport
CountrySingapore
Turned pro2016
Coached bySelf-coached
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 5000 m: 14:44.21 (NR)
  • 10,000 m: 31:15.95 (NR)
  • Half marathon: 1:06:46 (NR)
  • Marathon: 2:22:59 (NR)
Medal record
Representing  Singapore
Men's athletics
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Singapore Marathon
Gold medal – first place 2017 Kuala Lumpur Marathon

Soh Rui Yong (born 6 August 1991)[2] is a Singaporean national long-distance runner, and holder of four national records: 5,000m, 10,000m, half marathon and marathon. In 2017, Soh became the first Singaporean male marathoner to win back-to-back SEA Games titles when he won gold again at the Southeast Asian Games.[3][4] Soh has been embroiled in several disputes relating to Ashley Liew's act of sportmanship in 2015 SEA Games since 2018,[5] which led him to be excluded from participating in 2019 SEA Games[6] and subsequently being brought into a defamation case by Liew.[7]

Early life[]

Soh was born in Singapore in 1991. Soh's mother is a teacher, and his younger sister Romaine is also an accomplished runner.[8] When Soh was at Raffles Institution, he won the A Division individual cross-country title two years in a row.[9]

Education[]

Soh graduated from the University of Oregon in the United States, where he studied business administration.[10]

Soh has been reading for a law degree at University College London since 2021.[11]

Career[]

Soh won his first marathon gold at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games and became the first Singaporean male marathoner to win back-to-back SEA Games titles when he won gold again at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games despite almost being expelled from the team a week before the race.[12]

In August 2017, Soh courted controversy when he was given a formal warning by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) over a breach of regulations regarding the promotion of personal sponsors on social media during the Southeast Asian Games.[13] In September, after winning the marathon gold, he protested having to donate 20 per cent of his $10,000 Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP) prize money to Singapore Athletics (SA), as he said he retained his gold medal "without any coaching help from SA".[8][14]

On 20 January 2019, Soh set a new half marathon national record of 66:46 at the 2019 Aramco Houston Half Marathon, breaking Mok Ying Ren's 3-year-old record of 67:08.[15] This made him the only Singapore man in history to concurrently hold the 10,000m (31:15.95) and half marathon national records. On 17 March 2019, Soh broke the Singapore marathon record after finishing the Seoul Marathon in 2:23:42.[16] However, Soh was not selected to compete in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games by SNOC to defend his marathon gold despite being nominated by SA.[6]

On 17 July 2021, at the Singapore Athletics All Comers Meet 4, Soh clocked 14:44.21 for the 5,000m, breaking Mok's record of 14:51.09. With this result, Soh became the holder of four national records: 5,000m, 10,000m, half-marathon, and marathon.[17]

On 4 September 2021, Soh clocked 6:53.18 in a 2.4km run – the fastest recorded time in Singapore.[18] He issued a challenge to all Singaporeans to clock a sub-7 timing; anyone succeeding would receive $700 and 700 bottles of Pocari Sweat paid by Soh.[19] The challenge was eventually carried out at Pocari Sweat Run, a local running event, on 8 January 2022. In it, Jeevaneesh Soundararajah set a new record at 6:52.97.[20]

On 28 November 2021, Soh took on the fastest Gurkha solder in Singapore, Subas Gurung,[21] over 10,000m at the Singapore Athletics Allcomers 5 Track Meet. Soh won the race in 31:28.67, becoming the first Singaporean in history to qualify for the Asian Games 10,000m final. [22]

On 5 December 2021, Soh broke his national record for the marathon when he ran 2:22:59 at the Valencia Marathon. This performance made him the first marathon runner in Singapore history to qualify for the Asian Games Marathon. [23]

Sponsorship[]

In 2021, Soh signed a four year endorsement deal with Under Armour, an American apparel brand, to be part of its global athletes programme.[24] In the same year, Soh was signed on as a brand ambassador of Takagi Ramen, a Singapore ramen chain, and also gained sponsorship deal with Pocari Sweat, a Japanese isotonic drink brand.[25]

Disputes[]

Disputing Ashley Liew's act of sportsmanship[]

In October 2018, Soh disputed fellow runner Ashley Liew's version of events surrounding the 2015 SEA Games marathon.[5] Liew was initially at or close to last place before ending up in the lead of the race after the other 12 runners missed a U-turn and took the wrong route. Instead of taking advantage of the mistake made, Liew slowed down for the rest to catch up, ultimately coming 8th while Soh won the race.[5][26] For this, Liew was awarded the Special Award for Sportsmanship by Singapore National Olympic Council and the International Fair Play Committee's (CIFP) Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy in 2016.[5][27] 3 other witnesses, including Filipino runner who was also in the same race, backed Soh's version of events in the media.[28]

Liew took Soh to the courts for defamation after serving Soh legal letters offering him an opportunity to retract his statements.[29][30] Soh subsequently filed a counterclaim.[31] On 23 September 2021, District Judge Lee Li Choon "found that the words in Soh's statements were defamatory, or bore defamatory meanings."[7] Lee granted orders to have the defamatory statements removed; Soh to issue a statement declaring that the statements are false and to retract the false statements and publish an apology; and an injunction against future republishing of the statements.[7] Soh was also ordered to pay S$180,000 in damages,[7] of which he turned to crowdfunding as Liew's lawyers requested for immediate payment.[32] He had also since indicated his intention to appeal to the High Court against the verdict.[33]

SEA Games 2019 non-inclusion[]

For 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Soh's nomination by Singapore Athletics (SA) was rejected by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) for "display[ing] conduct that falls short of the standards of attitude and behaviour" that SNOC expected of its athletes.[6] SNOC had earlier served Soh a legal letter to withdraw his allegations against Ashley Liew.[34] A debate ensued over whether a potential medallist should be barred from being a national representative due to personal conduct issues.[35][36] After failing to obtain explanations from SA and SNOC over their statements made of him through an exchange of legal letters,[37][38] Soh filed defamation writs and statement of claims against SA and SA executive director Syed Abdul Malik Aljunied.[39]

After the management of SA was changed on 25 September 2020, both parties reached a truce in which Soh stood down on his lawsuits against SA, and SA withdrawing its media statements on Soh "breach[ing] (SA’s) Athletic Code of Conduct” and that for "his transgressions, (SA) had attempted to counsel and reason with him, as part of a holistic rehabilitation process"; extending an apology to him; and stood down the disciplinary actions that the previous management had taken against him.[40] The defamation case against Malik continued and was heard on 12 January 2022.[41]

References[]

  1. ^ "陈川仁贺函上把马拉松健将苏睿勇写成瑞恩 后澄清是两人之间的笑话". Channel 8 News. 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Soh Rui Yong – SEA Games 2015 Athletics Squad". singaporeathletics.org.sg. 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  3. ^ Farhan, Noor (19 August 2017). "SEA Games: Singapore's Soh Rui Yong defends marathon title". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. ^ "SEA Games: Indonesian marathoner praises rival Soh Rui Yong for sportsmanship". Today. 28 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d hermesauto (21 October 2018). "Athletics: Soh claims tale of teammate's act of sportsmanship at 2015 SEA Games 'not true' but SNOC, ONEathlete back Liew". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Marathoner Soh Rui Yong in shock omission as SNOC selects 585 athletes for SEA Games". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 30 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  7. ^ a b c d "Soh Rui Yong loses defamation suit to Ashley Liew, required to pay $180,000 in damages". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 23 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  8. ^ a b Chia, Nicole (2 October 2017). "People: Marathoner Soh Rui Yong: Rebel or voice of the sport?". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  9. ^ Tung, Colin. "Soh Rui Yong achieves rare A Division double as six Raffles Institution boys finish in the top eight". RED SPORTS.
  10. ^ hermes (25 April 2016). "Athletics: Soh completes London Marathon but misses Rio mark". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Soh Rui Yong Has Been Accepted to UK Law School At The Age of 30". Goody Feed. 27 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Marathoner Soh given last warning for breaching SNOC rules". TODAYonline. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  13. ^ Farhan, Noor (15 August 2017). "Marathoner Soh Rui Yong given formal warning for 'repeatedly' breaching sponsorship rules". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Soh Rui Yong says Singapore Athletics didn't provide coaching help for SEA Games: report". Yahoo. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  15. ^ Meng, Wang Meng (21 January 2019). "Athletics: Soh Rui Yong says he's in 'good shape' after claiming national half-marathon mark in Houston". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  16. ^ Chia, Nicole (17 March 2019). "Athletics: Soh Rui Yong clocks 2:23:42 in Seoul, lowers national men's marathon record". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 18 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  17. ^ Chia, Laura (17 July 2021). "Athletics: Soh Rui Yong sets new men's 5,000m national record". The Straits Times.
  18. ^ "Really Soh fast: Clocking under 7 minutes, this man is Singapore's fastest 2.4km runner". AsiaOne. 6 September 2021.
  19. ^ "'Your move': Fastest 2.4km runner Soh Rui Yong challenges anyone to a sub-7 run, netizens call for encik's grandmother to take him on". AsiaOne. 9 September 2021.
  20. ^ Sazali Abdul Aziz (8 January 2022). "Athletics: Jeevaneesh Soundararajah breaks Soh Rui Yong's 2.4km record at Pocari Sweat Run | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "Athletics: Soh Rui Yong to race fastest Gurkha in Singapore who ran 2.4km in under 7 minutes". 14 September 2021 – via The Straits Times.
  22. ^ Aziz, Sazali Abdul (29 November 2021). "Athletics: Soh Rui Yong clears Asian Games 10,000m qualifying mark, targets marathon next" – via The Straits Times.
  23. ^ "Singaporean runner Soh Rui Yong breaks national marathon record, meets qualifying mark for 2022 Asian Games". CNA.
  24. ^ Aziz, Sazali Abdul (27 March 2021). "Athletics: Back on track, Soh Rui Yong hits SEA Games qualifying mark in 1,500m". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Soh Rui Yong signs S$20,000 deal with Takagi Ramen in bid to qualify for Asian Games Marathon". mothership.sg. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  26. ^ Muniappan, Shanjayan (10 June 2015). "Liew shows what real class is". Today. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Special Award for Sportsmanship – Mr Ashley Liew (刘威延)". Singapore National Olympic Council. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  28. ^ "'I didn't see anybody slow down', says Filipino marathoner of Ashley Liew's act of sportsmanship at 2015 SEA Games". TODAYonline. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  29. ^ hermesauto (3 September 2020). "Athletics: Soh's comments and posts put me in 'very negative light', says marathoner Liew". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  30. ^ hermesauto (18 June 2019). "Athletics: Ashley Liew files court papers against Soh Rui Yong over 2015 SEA Games marathon saga". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  31. ^ hermesauto (9 October 2019). "Athletics: National marathoner Soh Rui Yong files counterclaim against former teammate Ashley Liew". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  32. ^ "Marathoner Soh Rui Yong crowdfunding at least S$180,000 to pay Ashley Liew over defamation suit". mothership.sg. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  33. ^ "Runner Soh Rui Yong loses defamation suit, ordered to pay Ashley Liew S$180,000 in damages". CNA. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  34. ^ "Soh Rui Yong's refusal to retract allegations on Ashley Liew 'reflects poorly' on him: SNOC". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 30 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  35. ^ Yeo, Clarence (15 June 2021). "Athletics: Soh Rui Yong earns nomination for SEA Games". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  36. ^ "Athletes earn right to fly S'pore flag if they meet criteria, says senior sports official". TODAYonline. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  37. ^ "Soh Rui Yong sends legal letters to SNOC, Singapore Athletics". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 30 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  38. ^ "Soh Rui Yong rejects Singapore Athletics' offer for mediation". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 30 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  39. ^ "Soh Rui Yong files defamation writ in High Court against Singapore Athletics". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 30 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  40. ^ "Singapore Athletics, marathoner Soh Rui Yong call truce over legal dispute". sg.news.yahoo.com (in en-SG). Retrieved 30 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  41. ^ "Soh Rui Yong grilled on stand in defamation suit against Singapore Athletic Association's ex-director". CNA. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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