Ong (bottom) connects with Pandelela (left, top) and Jennet during the webinar.
KUCHING (Sept 22): What fuels Sarawak and national diving queen Pandelela Rinong in achieving success at the highest level?
More than 500 athletes, coaches, officials with sports development officers and officials from the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) had a deeper insight into her daily dietary intake during training, competition in normal and pandemic circumstance, recovery strategies, and supplementation in a recent Sports Nutrition Education Webinar Series 1 themed “What Fuels Pandelela” via a Zoom meeting.
The webinar series hosted by SSC is a bit special compared to the other five series because the High Performance Unit had invited Pandelela to share her experience.
It was aimed at helping state athletes plan their own diet and recognise that sports nutrition is a key component to reach top performance.
During the webinar the athletes also had the opportunity to ask questions, learn and be inspired by Pandelela on how she strategised her diet according to her training programme.
“Indeed, nutrition is an important element for sports achievement. To achieve success in sports, athletes, besides the need for passion for the sports concerned and the thrill of competing also need the proper nutrition and dietary intake to maximise their potential as a champion.
“Just look at the athletes participating in the Olympics, especially our speaker for today’s session Pandelela, the greatest glory as an athlete at the most prestigious stage!” said SSC CEO Dr Ong Kong Swee when officiating the webinar series.
“Their motivation is not only from the internal impetus and their behaviour is self-determined, they are also supported by a healthy dietary intake and proper meal planning.
“Even during this Covid-19 pandemic, they were still able to compete for the country,” he added.
Ong expressed the hope that the participants, especially Sarawak athletes, will absorb the the key points and practise good nutrition plans to maximise their performance.
“If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you,” he stressed.
The webinar series was moderated by HPU nutrition unit’s Jennet Judith Unying who was assisted by Sharil Gasit.