Teen triathlete collapses and dies after race
By Jeanette Wang & Lee Hui Chieh
RAFFLES JUNIOR COLLEGE STAR: Thaddeus was so keen to represent Singapore at the SEA Games that he spent the June school holidays training twice a day. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE CHEONG FAMILY
A PROMISING teenage triathlete collapsed after crossing the finish line in a South-east Asia Games selection race yesterday and died soon after.
Thaddeus Cheong, 17, a first-year student at Raffles Junior College, had just swum 1.5km, cycled 40km and run 10km at Changi.
He clocked a personal best of 2hr 9min, and came in third. Then he collapsed.
The boy's parents, George and Angeline Cheong, both 46, were present and rushed to their elder son. Their younger boy, Thomas, 13, is also a triathlon enthusiast.
Mrs Cheong told The Straits Times last night: 'We did not know his heart had stopped beating. We kept calling him, but there was no answer.'
Thaddeus was unconscious and foaming at the mouth when he was taken to Changi General Hospital (CGH). Doctors were unable to resuscitate him and pronounced him dead at 10.55am.
Police have classified it as a case of unnatural death, and a coroner's inquiry will be held.
Family members, team-mates and friends were in shock as news of the teen's death spread yesterday.
By afternoon, his school and church friends had started posting messages of grief online in their blogs.
Yesterday's SEA Games trial was the first of two to decide the two men and two women triathletes to represent Singapore in the year-end regional sports meet.
Thaddeus was among eight men and three women who started the race at about 6.45am at the Tanah Merah Country Club's swimming pool.
Triathlon Association of Singapore senior executive and assistant national coach Jerry Seah said Thaddeus looked confident, happy and ready to go before the flag-off.
Participant Sikhander Singh, who finished sixth behind Thaddeus, said: 'He looked fresh throughout the race. I had never seen him look better on the run.
'It was his best year so far in his triathlon career. I am very sad to see him go.'
Describing her son as an achiever, Mrs Cheong said: 'When he wanted something, he would work hard to get it.'
He was so keen to book a SEA Games slot that he had doubled his training stints to twice daily during the school holidays.
Raffles JC's cross-country teacher-in-charge, Mr Tay Meng Kiat, said: 'He was a very good child and well-liked by his team-mates.'
College principal Winston Hodge said: 'We are shocked and deeply saddened by Thaddeus' sudden passing, and our hearts and thoughts are with his family and friends.'
Among those who paid tribute online was a boy named Yao Khuan, who said they had been friends since Primary 5.
He wrote on his blog: 'Thaddeus, if you can hear me...I'd like to tell you that you're the coolest guy, and that I've always looked up to you, and I hope that it is a better place in heaven.'
Mrs Cheong said: 'Thaddeus is a very, very good boy. He is every mother's dream. He is a no-nonsense person, will tell you what he means, short and sharp and quickly.
'But now, he has just left without saying goodbye.'
THE STRAITS TIMES Frontpage, June 26, 2007
Triathlete's heart failure death shocks fraternity
By Jeanette Wang
GRIEVING FAMILY: Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck offers condolences to Thaddeus' grandmother, Mrs Lucy Wee. The boy's mother, Mrs Angeline Cheong, is on the left. ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIMHEART failure caused the death of national triathlete Thaddeus Cheong - a fact that has sent shock waves through the local community of endurance athletes.
The tragedy has also spurred concern among parents of other young triathletes, who now want their children checked for potential life-threatening heart ailments that may be lurking.
Thaddeus, 17, who died right after finishing a race on Sunday, was among the top of the pack in Singapore triathlon, and this made his death even more shocking, said athletes in the burgeoning triathlon scene yesterday.
His mother, Mrs Angeline Cheong, 46, told The Straits Times yesterday: 'The autopsy result showed his heart failed, but further investigation is needed to find out the cause.' This will take about a month.
Mrs Cheong added that in light of the incident, she will send her younger son, Thomas, 13, who is an aspiring triathlete, for medical tests.
Thaddeus, a first-year student at Raffles Junior College, collapsed after finishing a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run in 2 hours 9 minutes in a South-east Asia Games selection trial at Changi.
His time was just 5 minutes off the pace of Mok Ying Ren, 19, the race winner.
At his wake in Jalan Girang, off Upper Serangoon Road, yesterday, parents of other young triathletes were visibly shocked and worried.
Tanney Wong, 39, whose teenage daughter is a recreational triathlete, said: 'We're looking at some specialists now to see if our child has heart problems.'
Father of three Calvin Koh, 44, also plans to send his teenage triathlete daughter for medical tests.
'We're definitely not going to stop her from doing the sport, but we'll be even more cautious now.'
Others at the wake, including Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck, expressed sadness at the death of a talented and driven athlete.
Said Mr Teo, who is also a triathlete: 'I feel very sad for him because he was just a young boy and he was training so hard. At least he was doing something he really loved.'
National head coach Guo Weidong, who has coached Thaddeus since 2004, said he was confident the boy would have been Singapore's top triathlete in one to two years' time.
'Just when he grew a passion to train and a strong determination to win for Singapore, it all ended. It's a waste,' he said tearfully.
The death of an elite, young endurance athlete is rare, said doctors contacted by The Straits Times yesterday.
Dr Benedict Tan, consultant sports physician at Changi General Hospital and head of its sports medicine centre, said that unlike older people, those aged below 35 rarely suffer a heart attack due to high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes.
In most cases, the sudden death of a young individual is probably caused by an underlying heart condition that may not have been detected earlier, he said.
He suggested that those who engage in intensive physical activity such as triathlons and marathons go for a thorough screening to pick up any conditions they may have.
Mrs Cheong said that to her knowledge, Thaddeus did not have any heart condition.
THE STRAITS TIMES Sports, June 26, 2007
Emergency equipment 'too costly'
National sports bodies say it's not feasible to have an ambulance or defibrillator at trials
By Lee Hui Chieh
PRIDE OF PLACE: Photographs of Thaddeus Cheong and the medals he won take centre stage at the wake held at the family home yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
IT IS not feasible to have an ambulance or a device to jump-start a stalled heart during training sessions or selection trials, national sports associations said yesterday.
They said it would be too costly to hire ambulances to be stationed round the clock, or to buy and maintain an automated external defibrillator - costing $3,000 to $4,000 - as well as train staff to use it.
The associations were responding to concerns raised over athletes' safety that were highlighted by teenage triathlete Thaddeus Cheong's death on Sunday.
The 17-year-old Raffles JC student had not been known to be ill or suffering from any heart conditions.
Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) president Loh Lin Kok said: 'It will be well nigh impossible to cater ambulances for training sessions.
'Athletes train throughout the day, and just a few at each time. It's not practical.'
But he added: 'But, if it's a gruelling race, like a triathlon, then we can't play the fool.'
Singapore Swimming Association vice-president (swimming), Oon Jin Gee, said: 'We deal with high-performing athletes, near-professionals. You expect them to be super-fit, and be in the best shape.'
When Thaddeus collapsed after completing a selection trial for the South-east Asia Games, there had been no medical treatment rendered, his mother said.
Angeline Cheong and her husband George, both 46, had been at the trial, rooting for their son when they saw him cross the finish line at Changi Coast Road before falling.
Mrs Cheong said: 'There was no medical help at all - no medical personnel, no ambulance, no defibrillator. I guess it was because it was not a major race.'
The teenager was taken to hospital by the trial's organiser, the Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS), in a van.
When Thaddeus arrived at Changi General Hospital 10 to 15 minutes later, he already had no pulse.
Doctors failed to resuscitate him and pronounced him dead after an hour and a half.
Mrs Cheong's sister, Dr Belinda Wee, 43, a general practitioner, said yesterday: 'To prevent this from happening again, in any such races, they should have a defibrillator and medical personnel on standby.
'If a defibrillator had been used, my nephew might still be here.'
Mrs Cheong added: 'We're not blaming the association. But we hope that, in future, such things can be avoided.'
Three TAS officials present had been trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but had not performed it on Thaddeus because his heart seemed to be still beating at the time.
Yesterday, TAS' senior executive and assistant national coach Jerry Seah explained: 'I could still see his eyes moving and there was a pulse.'
Trial participant Jonathan Fong, who accompanied Thaddeus in the van to hospital, said: 'I was monitoring his pulse all the way, and there was a very, very weak pulse.'
The TAS did not comment on its reasons for not hiring an ambulance for this trial.
An ambulance equipped with a defibrillator and trained medical staff is a standard requirement for major meets and races, said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), the SAA and the SSA.
But these are generally not employed during normal training sessions and trials.
The swimmers train at pools where lifeguards are trained in CPR, said Oon.
FAS spokesman Eric Ong said that all its coaches and physiotherapists were trained in CPR, and at least one would be present at the national team's training sessions.
Since 2000, it has made it compulsory for all national team players to go through a thorough health check every year.
It is considering buying automated external defibrillators to beef up precautionary measures, FAS' Ong said.
Similarly, the SSA's coaches are CPR-trained, and it will now relook the feasibility of buying defibrillators, according to Loh.
The Singapore Sports Council was unable to comment by press time on any action it would be taking to prevent a repeat of the incident.
Parliamentary Secretary ( Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck said yesterday that the ministry and the council will work with the national sports associations to improve safety measures for sporting events.
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'To prevent this from happening again, in any such races, they should have a defibrillator and medical personnel on standby. If a defibrillator had been used, my nephew might still be here.'
DR BELINDA WEE, a general practitioner and Thaddeus' aunt
'We're not blaming the association. But we hope that, in future, such things can be avoided.'
MRS ANGELINE CHEONG, Thaddeus' mother
THE STRAITS TIMES Sports, June 27, 2007
His big heart touched friends and family
By Jeanette Wang
HIS name is an Aramaic expression meaning 'heart', and the late national triathlete Thaddeus Cheong certainly had a lot of it.
So say friends and family members of the 17-year-old, who on Sunday collapsed after crossing the finish line in a South-east Asia Games selection trial and died of heart failure soon after.
'When he wanted something, he would work hard to get it,' said his mother Angeline Cheong, 46.
Best friend Julian Foo, 17, Thaddeus' schoolmate since their Catholic High Primary days, said: 'He was very determined to prove himself.'
On Sunday, the first-year Raffles Junior College student had moved a step closer to fulfilling his dream of representing Singapore at December's SEA Games in Thailand.
At Changi, he swam 1.5km, cycled 40km and ran 10km in a personal-best time of 2hr 9min and finished third, just minutes behind race winner Mok Ying Ren, 19.
National coach Guo Weidong, who had coached Thaddeus since 2004, called the boy 'a rare find'.
'He wasn't the best swimmer, cyclist or runner but, with all three disciplines combined, he was one of Singapore's best,' said Guo.
'I was certain that in one or two years, no one would be able to match him.'
What began as a hobby for the former school swimmer in 2004 grew into a passion over the past year.
From trailing the girls during training, he began to pull the pack during the daily swim, cycle and run sessions.
He improved his time by almost 20 minutes in two years.
At the 2005 Osim Singapore International Triathlon, he finished in 2:26. The next year, he clocked 2:16.
He had kept aside a new race suit and running shoes for next month's Osim Singapore Triathlon, at which he hoped to shine.
He was also on course to qualify for the SEA Games duathlon - a 10km run, 40km cycle and 5km run race - after finishing as the second-best Singaporean at last month's Oakley City Duathlon at Marina Bay.
Teammate Elaine Chan, 20, said: 'He matured a lot recently, and was a lot more motivated to train. He was very strong mentally, and quietly determined and confident.'
Another teammate Dexter Leong, 16, said: 'His determination was very inspirational.'
Thaddeus' heart extended beyond the sport to his family and friends, who fondly remember a caring, considerate and cheerful boy.
Grandmother Lucy Wee said: 'Every Saturday, when we went to the church, he would hold my husband and me.'
Said Julian: 'He was like a brother I never had.'
When Thaddeus went overseas for races, he would always buy gifts for his loved ones - such as a T-shirt from the Philippines for his mother and a can of worms from South Korea for Triathlon Association of Singapore official Robert Choy, 48.
Choy called Thaddeus 'a damn nice boy' who looked after the younger kids in the team.
Aspiring triathlete Samantha Ho, 13, said: 'During the trial on Sunday, he encouraged me by shouting 'Go Sam!' as he rode past.'
Her father, Calvin, 44, said: 'He was a well-mannered boy. He would always smile and greet you.'
John Tung, 17, his classmate from Sec 2, wrote in his blog: 'He asked me out last week. I regret not going.
'My friend suggested I should run at the speed of light to go back in time and tell him not to cycle that day. I should start training towards that goal.'
Bus-loads of RJC schoolmates and teachers, including principal Winston Hodge, were at his wake at his Jalan Girang home, off Upper Serangoon Road, on Monday.
Hundreds of other friends, relatives and members of the local triathlon community also paid their last respects.
'I didn't know my son was so popular,' said his mother.
Ironically, it was Thaddeus' heart that failed him in the end.
His spirit, though, lives on - in his younger brother Thomas, 13, who hopes to compete in the SEA Games one day to fulfil his brother's dream.
The cortege will leave his home today at 2.30pm for a funeral service at the Church of St Francis Xavier at 3pm. It will then proceed to the Mandai Crematorium.
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'He matured a lot recently, and was a lot more motivated to train. He was very strong mentally, and quietly determined and confident.'
TEAMMATE ELAINE CHAN, on Thaddeus Cheong
posted by aine at 6:45 PM
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