Olivia Wong: Fuelling Singapore athletes as a sport dietitian | Beyond the Dream
From auditing to dietetics, Olivia Wong, a sport dietitian from SportSG, shares valuable insights into the world of sport nutrition, including her experience working with athletes, the challenges she faces, and the immense satisfaction she derives from her work.
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00:00When I finally saw her on television, it gave me a lot of satisfaction, I mean it was a
00:12very special moment for me because our hard work and effort I felt was paid off in that
00:18moment.
00:19It also reminded me of why I made the switch from accounting to dietetics.
00:31Hi, my name is Olivia.
00:34I'm a sport dietitian from Sports Singapore.
00:36I previously worked as a clinical dietitian in a hospital before moving to the sports
00:40industry.
00:42So previously in the hospital, I worked with patients with chronic diseases and now I work
00:47with national athletes in high-performing sports.
00:51I never thought I would pursue dietetics until much later in life.
00:55I started off my career as a fresh graduate in accounting, but I struggled to envision
00:59myself continuing that job over the long term, so I decided to leave the industry.
01:06So I've always participated in sports from a young age, so I used to be in the track
01:11and field team in primary school and I did netball in secondary school and I was in the
01:15Outdoors Activities Club in junior college.
01:18So I think this really helped pave the way for a career in sports and I love to bake
01:22as well and I love to eat.
01:28Most dietetics programmes, they don't come with a sports nutrition component.
01:32So I started off as a clinical dietitian, just to build my foundation first, while embarking
01:38on a two-year sports nutrition diploma with the International Olympic Committee.
01:42So when this job opportunity came, it was very timely because then I could marry that
01:46sports nutrition knowledge with the real hands-on experience here at Sports Singapore.
01:52And you know, every day is very different for me here, but a typical day could look
01:55like, you know, meeting athletes for consultations and for assessments.
02:03So this is Darren.
02:04Darren, he's a Team Singapore cyclist and I've been working with Darren for the past
02:08two years.
02:09Darren first came to me because he's consuming a predominantly plant-based diet and he was
02:14concerned about not eating enough protein.
02:16So he came to me wanting to know whether he's eating enough and what he can do to top up
02:21his protein sources.
02:25So I see athletes like a Formula One race car and food as fuel for the race car.
02:30So without adequate fuel, it's really difficult for the car to perform optimally.
02:35You know, our job as a dietitian really is to help the athlete understand how to top
02:38up this fuel and how to fuel the tank so that, you know, they can, it can contribute to their
02:43speed and performance.
02:46So last year when I was preparing for the SEA Games in Cambodia, we were in Thailand
02:52doing a training camp.
02:53So I actually had an accident where most of us piled up on top of one another while going
02:58at fast speed and I kind of like landed on my knees and it kind of tore my PCL.
03:02A whole team of sports scientists here in SSI helped me along my journey to get me up
03:08back into my feet as soon as I can.
03:10We were aiming maybe next year, next year's SEA Games as well.
03:14So I worked very closely with the physiotherapist, Su Lin, from the physiotherapy department
03:19and Renaud from the SSEME department, the strength and conditioning department, to strengthen
03:24the other parts of my body to make sure that, you know, I won't get re-injured.
03:31Yeah, I think it's essential to have regular conversations with the other support team
03:36when an athlete's injured.
03:38So for him, of course, to have conversations with him, but also with the physiotherapist,
03:43the medical doctor, as well as, you know, other departments that may see him through
03:47this journey.
03:50So beyond just supporting the athlete, we also support one another in a team.
03:56So I remember there was this incident in Cambodia for last year's SEA Games.
04:00I was actually quite sick.
04:01I remember feeling quite worried that, you know, I wasn't productive, but I was very
04:06thankful because there was a lot of teamwork behind the scenes.
04:09So the physiotherapists, they are actually assigned to different sports, so they're always
04:15at the ground with the sports, and they actually took a lot of initiative to pack ice, to pack
04:20recovery drinks, to pack snacks for the athletes.
04:24They never once made me feel like, you know, it's your job, you should do it, you know,
04:27I don't have to do it.
04:29So I felt like there was a lot of teamwork, and I think at the end of the day, we want
04:33the best for the athletes, and we work towards that goal.
04:38People tend to associate seeing a dietitian for weight loss, and they think, you know,
04:42we may judge them for what they eat, and because of that, they may under-report what they actually
04:46eat.
04:47But in fact, you know, in the high-performance sports, we find that athletes, they often
04:51eat lesser than what they need for their sports.
04:53And so we always encourage them to eat more, especially on days that they train harder
04:57and longer.
04:58I think one of the most rewarding aspects of this job is that we get to see the athletes
05:04I think one of the most rewarding aspects of this job is that we get this long-term
05:07working relationship with the athlete, and we get to, you know, track our interventions
05:12over time, and it's not just a one-off intervention.
05:15There's an athlete I worked with, she was referred to me because she had to make weight
05:18for her sport, and she started dehydrating herself early.
05:22We talked about, you know, strategies on how to manage that, on how to, you know, reduce
05:27body fat early in the process, and then we talked about strategies on how to cut weight
05:33nearing the competition.
05:34When I finally saw her on television, it gave me a lot of satisfaction.
05:39I mean, it was a very special moment for me.
05:41Our hard work and effort, I felt, was paid off in that moment.
05:45It also reminded me of why I made the switch from accounting to dietetics.
05:57So looking back, we all had to be trained overseas because there wasn't any educational
06:02institution here in Singapore offering a nutrition and dietetics degree.
06:05But since 2019, you can actually complete your nutrition and dietetics degree here in
06:10Singapore, you can also complete your internship here as well.
06:13So with the sports industry booming, you know, we see more genes now than ever before.
06:18I think the possibilities are endless.
06:21There's a wide range of careers in sports as well, including nutrition, biomechanics,
06:26strength and conditioning, physiology, psychology, even physiotherapy as well.
06:32And I hope that I'll be able to impart knowledge to the athletes I work with so that I can
06:36empower them to make nutrition decisions on their own in tandem with their trainings and
06:41other areas of sports science as well.
06:44And I also hope that these older athletes can inspire younger athletes to use nutrition
06:50and to use other areas of sports science in their sporting careers as well.
06:55And this is my dream.