SINGAPORE – The year 2024 is a big one for some folks in Singapore, who have bold goals they hope to crush.
Martial arts coach Jennifer Li, 58, is attempting to break her own record, shattering ceramic tiles balanced on raw eggs.
Yoga school founder Zikri Ali, 41, wants his five-year-old child to be the youngest Singaporean to reach base camp at Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain.
Boosted by what is possibly a world-first cancer treatment, cancer survivor Oliver Keh, 23, is setting his sights on expanding his food and beverage businesses.
Lawyer Tom Platts, 45, is about to complete 400 rounds of MacRitchie Reservoir, comprising about 5,000km over the course of a year, in a bid to raise funds for dementia patients.
Barista Courtney Kheng, 30, hopes to be the first Singaporean to ace a global barista championship.
The Straits Times looks at how these individuals are preparing to make 2024 a year for posterity.
New cancer treatment gives 23-year-old hope, spurs business plans
When Mr Oliver Keh, 23, was in secondary school, a routine health check revealed a lump at the base of his neck.
Following this school check-up for signs of scoliosis, a condition where the spine curves to the side, a series of hospital scans showed he was in an advanced stage of an exceedingly rare cancer at age 16.
The recent Nanyang Technological University graduate recalls thinking: “I may have only a few months left. I asked my dad, ‘Should I continue studying?’”
In reply, his father, businessman Jason Keh, 58, asked him to consider: “What happens if you don’t die?”
Martial arts coach plans to shatter 80 tiles on raw eggs – and her own record
In 2024, martial arts coach Jennifer Li, 58, hopes to crush her own record from 2023, when she sliced 69 ceramic tiles, each balanced atop a raw egg which remained unbroken. In total, she smashed 76 such tiles, though seven eggs broke.
The feat, documented in the Singapore Book of Records, was seven years in the making, even though it took just 30 seconds to execute.
Lawyer’s MacRitchie challenge – 400 loops around the reservoir area
Mr Tom Platts, 45, has been walking an ever-increasing number of loops around MacRitchie Reservoir for a year, and he is about to reach the end of his quest.
In a bid to raise funds for Dementia Singapore, a social service agency that specialises in dementia care, support and advocacy, the corporate finance lawyer at an international law firm initiated MacRitchie Challenge 2023, in which he planned to walk or jog 75 laps around the MacRitchie area. His lap around the water catchment area is about 12.4km, which takes him about 2½ hours each day.
His target was gradually revised upwards as up to 850 people flocked to his cause, accompanying him on his daily walks.
Dad wants five-year-old son to be youngest Singaporean to reach Everest Base Camp
When Mr Zikri Ali, 41, read an online article about the youngest Singaporean to reach base camp at Mount Everest, he thought: “My son can do that.”
Despite naysayers, his wife War War Lwin Tun shares his confidence in their five-year-old son, Abyan Imtiaz Irkiz. The couple, who run a yoga school together, also have a 10-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son.
Mr Zikri and Abyan will embark on their record-breaking bid in April. The boy will be five years and 10 months old then.
Caffeine boost – Singaporean barista’s bid to be a world champ
There will be many cupping sessions to find the perfect competition beans. There will be sleuthing to find out what kinds of milk are available in South Korea, and which one will work best with the beans. There will be a lot of yoga, meditation and running, to build mental resilience and physical fitness. There will be countless revisions to the script. There will be hours and hours, months and months, of practice.
Barista Courtney Kheng’s 2024 is shaping up to be a gruelling one.
Her aim: To be the first Singaporean barista to make it to the finals of the 2024 World Barista Championship in Busan, South Korea. And, of course, to win it.
