Drifting on ice
> Short track speed skater Dione Tan achieves astounding speeds
continued to win medals in different countries and recently, she was named in The Malaysia Book of Records as the first Malaysian woman to win a medal in an internatioal short track speed skating competition.
At just 14 years old, she demonstrates exceptional skills on the ice and is an expert in balancing when she takes speed. She has competed in various events from 500m, 1,000m to 1,500m and is now targeting the 3000m relay team.
“I don’t know how to win, and actually feel scared whenever I skate, but my coach said I have really good speed on the track,” she said.
Currently studying at Desa Parkcity International School, her coach, Tan Bee Leng had trained her well that she reached the stage of Freestyle 7 out of 10. Her coach commented that Tan is an outstanding performer and coaches from other countries also acknowledge her potential in short track speed skating. I have travelled many times to compete in China, Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and the Philippines. For the training camps, I have also gone to many countries. I would say that Dongguan, China was the best place where I won a Gold medal in Asian Open Short Track Speed Skating in 2013. The main challenge is my school work. I wouldn’t say I am good in studies, but I’m managing. Of course, I will prioritise my studies but I also enjoy skating. I usually finish my school work and studies during the day and at night, I give skating my full concentration. Yes, they are! When I was five, I told my mum I was interested in ice skating. Even though it is an expensive sport, she gave me full I either train early in the morning at 7am or late nights because in Malaysia we only have two and a half rinks and there is a higher risk of accidents if there are people in the rink. I think more spaces are needed to train in. Sometimes, I also train after school. There are no tricks involved; my stamina gets me going at high speeds. No, they are both different. However all short track skaters did figure skating. When I was younger, I used to participate in figure skating but I don’t like dancing so I went into short track speed skating. Both aren’t easy. My coach said I am also good at figure
skating. I try my best every time I go for competitions. I always feel happy and thankful to participate and achieve such placings overseas. These victories aren’t only for myself but for those who have supported me such as my family, coach and friends. I know for a fact that many people are better than me as they are much older, they have more experience and they train harder. But when I train with my coach and compete with her, she helps me put in more effort. My dream is to become a dentist. At this age, I don’t want to put all my focus on skating because if anything happens to me in the rink, there will be no future for me. Maybe after a few years I may change my mind.