From missing the Rio Olympics by 0.001 points to redefining success beyond the podium, she shares what it really takes to walk away — and why half of her still lives on the mat.
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00:00Representing Malaysia is like the highest level that you can do and I always want
00:03to do my very best and so when I didn't get the results that I wanted I felt
00:08like a failure. We have so much responsibility to the nation. I've gotten
00:12people who said like I'm too old, too injured, too big, like everything that you would
00:18you wouldn't say to a person face to face I've got it. I felt not qualifying
00:22before and that was like heartbreaking. People say when you can feel your
00:26heartbreak that's how I felt because it was so devastating to me to not be able
00:29to go to Rio. I had always identified as, you know, Farah and the gymnast and that's
00:33what people always knew me as and then now I'm just Farah and I was like who is
00:38this person without a gymnast thing?
00:47It's another exciting episode of the Shock Podcast Life Confessions. Another guest
00:52joins us. I am very excited because I've been looking forward to interviewing
00:58this person who needs no introduction and she is Malaysian Olympian Farah Ann. Thank
01:06you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be
01:09here. And I also like your shoes first. I'm going to say that right now. I'm going to
01:12need to find out where you got them from. They're the Nike Air Max. I can hit you up.
01:16Okay. All right. I'm going to mark that down now. Get shoes. Okay. So let's start with like,
01:22you know, we know you so well. People think they know you well. I think that's one of the things
01:27when it comes, that comes with the territory of being such a public figure such as yourself,
01:31right? But let's start with who is Farah Ann? Like if you had to describe yourself,
01:37like how would you describe yourself?
01:39Wow. Coming out, you know, guns blazing. Yeah. I thought that was like a nice way to
01:44ease it in, but no, right? Okay. What's your favorite Malaysian food? Come, I'll start with.
01:50Okay. I'll answer your question. Who is Farah Ann? So I think everyone knows me as, you know,
01:55Farah Ann the gymnast. And that was how I perceived myself for many, many years. Since I was three
02:00when I started gymnastics until I retired. And so now I'm actually trying to find who I am.
02:06I'm multiple of things. Trying in gymnastics, I will always be, it will be my heart, it will
02:12always be my love. But I'm dabbling in other things. So I'm a daughter. I am an athlete.
02:19I am going to be probably an actress. I'm going to probably have like a business,
02:27an entrepreneur. I'm a motivational speaker. I'm a mental health advocate.
02:32What else do I do?
02:33You just gave me so many more questions to ask you.
02:35And I'm also a certified judge now, so I can judge for like gymnastics.
02:41And yeah, I'm actually, yeah, so all those things.
02:45So to recap on what you just said, right? Let's go one by one. You said soon to be actress,
02:52I believe.
02:53Yeah. So I have things in the works. Can't really talk about it right now.
02:59Right.
02:59What can you say?
03:02It's just a very small, a dabble, you know, like a little, a little pinch.
03:07Okay. How about genre-wise?
03:10You know, sometimes you have to resign.
03:12Okay. So nothing, nothing. Got it. We're back to the nice shoes.
03:17How about business? You said you're going to be heading into business ventures?
03:23A friend of mine, we are planning on potentially opening our own like academy for gymnastics
03:29and also kind of athleisure, I think.
03:34Yeah. Very popular now.
03:36Yeah.
03:36Yeah.
03:36Things like that.
03:37And you also said that now you are able to judge.
03:42Yes. I officially have a certificate to be able to judge you.
03:46Me?
03:47That will be an easy one.
03:48Yes.
03:48Just don't write anything.
03:50And that will be the judgment. Zero.
03:51Oh, no. I think I'll give a hundred.
03:54I accept it. This is saved and we are going to take that snippet and use it for my Instagram.
03:58Okay.
03:59So like, yeah, I have a judging license from the Federation of Gymnastics.
04:04That means I can actually judge. Now I judge in Malaysia for like gymnastics competitions,
04:08but now I can actually do it internationally.
04:10How does that transition feel like from being the person who was being judged to now being a judge?
04:15It was very interesting for me because I think in the beginning I used to judge when I was training as well.
04:22So I would do like minor competitions in Malaysia and then now transitioning to the bigger competitions.
04:29It's interesting to sit on the other side.
04:32It's also quite nerve wracking because I've always wanted to be fair.
04:38And as a judge, you finally, it's whenever I talk about competitions, everyone is stressed.
04:42Like the athlete is stressed, the judge is stressed, everyone is stressed to make sure that everything goes well.
04:47So it's just very interesting to be on the other side.
04:51Yeah, it's a lot more studying that I needed to do because every time a competition comes,
04:55I have to re-study the code of points and make sure that everything is up to date.
04:59You just brought up how like it was such a stressful thing surrounding everything relating to tournaments, gymnastics, right?
05:08Can you share with us some of those challenges that you faced during the early training years?
05:13You started at three years old, right?
05:14You said three years old.
05:16Yeah.
05:16Right.
05:16Can you share with us what that was like?
05:18So I think in the beginning of my career, it was more for fun.
05:24And I, if you start to my parents or anyone who knows me, I was very, very competitive.
05:33So for me, it was more of like going out there.
05:36And when you're new, everything is very exciting.
05:39So you just go in there, you compete and you hope for the best.
05:42And then I was like, oh, I wanted to win these medals.
05:44But as I grew older, there was a lot more stress put on me because I started representing Malaysia at 10 years old.
05:53So that was my first international competition.
05:55And, but at that time, it was like, oh, it's so interesting.
05:58I'm competing with other people now, other countries.
06:01So you see like Singapore, you see Thailand, Indonesia.
06:04And then when I started doing better and well, and especially after I won my C Games,
06:10my first silver was in 2011.
06:12And then coming, there was in a C Games in 2013.
06:15And then there was one in 2015.
06:17And I won six medals, two of them gold.
06:20And then a lot more pressure was put on to me because people expected high level performance at all the competitions that I went.
06:28And so I put a lot of pressure on myself because for me, representing Malaysia is like the highest level that you can do.
06:35And I always want to do my very best.
06:37And so when I didn't get the results that I wanted, I felt like a failure.
06:42Like I felt that I was letting all these people down who have been there for me, like my coaches, my teammates, my family, friends, and even like the Malaysian public because I'm representing Malaysia out there.
06:55I'm not representing myself.
06:56So for me, that was what part of the stress was, was always putting that much pressure on myself to just be the best all the time.
07:07But in through that, I've learned that failure is such an important tool for me because I learned that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was.
07:17So if you had told me when I was 17 or 18 that I would have qualified for the Olympics at 27 years old, I would be like, I think you're crazy.
07:25Because that seems like, because all my seniors when I was that age kind of retired around like 22, 23.
07:33So to be at that age and to be at, I would say, the best, the fittest I had ever been, like the best level that I had ever been.
07:41It was such a very big like learning curve as well.
07:44When you think about it now, because you've achieved, you achieved so much at a very young age.
07:49Yeah.
07:49Right.
07:50And how long has it been since you've retired now?
07:54Four, three years.
07:55I retired in 2022.
07:56So three years.
07:57Does it feel like you've retired?
07:58No.
07:59Every time people ask me, like when I retired, I'm like, what year is it?
08:02Okay, that like subtract 2022.
08:04Yeah, so three years.
08:05It doesn't feel like it's been three years, but it also does feel like it's been three years.
08:10Right.
08:10Like body-wise.
08:11Oh.
08:12Like fitness-wise.
08:13I think it's a major like, okay, I'm not a Olympic athlete anymore.
08:20Where you can eat nasi lemak anytime you want.
08:22Yeah.
08:23But nobody would be able to tell because looking at you, you look like you'd be able to take to the floor again at any point.
08:29Any point?
08:30Yeah.
08:31I'm very happy to say that I'm happy that you feel that way.
08:36My body doesn't feel that way.
08:37I can no longer do like double seltos, but I probably can do like a single seltos.
08:43So that's why I have to say my life.
08:44And okay, when it comes to the, we're talking about the challenges that you faced, right?
08:50Physical versus mental.
08:51Which one was the harder part?
08:53I think in the beginning of my career, it was physical because it was learning new skills, which was very fun for me.
08:59It was learning new skills, getting the basic down.
09:04And then later on, it was more mental because I think when I turned like 18, 19, I started getting hesitation problems.
09:11And it was something that I never had when I was younger because I used to be, I'll just, you know, like kind of like close my eyes and jump feeling.
09:18I was just like do any skill that the coach threw at me.
09:21And then when I started having my hesitation problems, it was a big problem for me because I wouldn't be able to do certain skills that had been done for like 15 years.
09:29And then I had to scale back and then redo the skills, go back to zero and then build.
09:35And so that for me was very stressful and very, I felt very demotivated because it was just being in the squad for this long and for the skills to be such basic skills that I had hesitation problems.
09:50It's not, when I talk about it, people don't really understand.
09:54And it's like, like mental blocks.
09:56I think that's a better way of saying it's like big mental blocks.
09:59And it's not because I was scared.
10:00It was not because I was injured.
10:01It was just like these blocks that I had in my head.
10:03And I think only sports like gymnastics or diving will have where you actually have to flip in the air.
10:10We'll have, for example, like Simone Biles when she had her mental.
10:13So it's similar to that.
10:14And also just training myself to be able to cope with the immense of pressure.
10:20So I think that was more mental.
10:22So throughout the later stages of my career, I focused a lot on more mental training because I had already honed down all of my physical skills.
10:29And then it became a balancing act of, that's why I say every time we got there, it's always like, I would say like 70% physical and 20% mental and then 10% of life.
10:41How do you deal with it though?
10:43It sounds like it was really something that weighed down on you.
10:48So how did you overcome it?
10:50Was it with help of someone?
10:52It was a lot of things.
10:53I'm very grateful to have wonderful coaches and teammates because they knew what I needed.
11:00Certain keywords.
11:01So I tried everything that I could try.
11:05So visualization, mental training, going to see psychologists.
11:10And then coaches helping, support.
11:13So I tried everything under the sun.
11:16And some days worked, some days didn't work.
11:18So it was always just like, okay, today it worked.
11:20And some days I would be like, oh, I don't have it today.
11:22And it would be a fantastic day.
11:24And so because it's only certain skills.
11:26So every time I needed to work on those skills, I would have to have like my coach by my side.
11:30And to just be like a safety guard in case I fly off the apparatus.
11:36But yeah, it was just a very balancing act.
11:39Yeah, so it was just every day I would go in and just do my training programs.
11:45And some days it would be fantastic, some days not.
11:47And yeah, just kind of deal with it and try to navigate through it.
11:52So it sounds like you had people around you who were able to support you.
11:56And you felt comfortable with talking to them about these issues.
11:58Yeah, of course.
11:59Because they could physically see it.
12:01Something that was physical, right?
12:02Like I would run to do a skill.
12:04And I would like either stop or like, you know, I would tumble.
12:08And I wouldn't do the specific skill, which is very dangerous.
12:11Yeah.
12:12So and I would also, I have wonderful teammates.
12:14So I would talk to them.
12:16I'm like, hey, today, I don't know.
12:17I don't feel like, I think it's the mental block is there.
12:21Could you help me?
12:21And they would always, always help.
12:23They were like, what do you need?
12:25Do you need us to, you know, say specific words?
12:27Do you need us?
12:28So and it was very different every time.
12:30So some days I'll be like, okay, try not to say anything so that I will see what works.
12:34And yeah, and my coaches as well.
12:36So I had a very, very strong support system that really helped me.
12:41And also I started reading a lot of books on how other top tier athletes deal with like mental, their mental health.
12:50And of course, it's very, very different, right?
12:52So if you have, I read something about like an archer.
12:56And so how they would sit for an hour, just like visualizing.
12:59And so it's very, very different specific keywords.
13:02And so I just kind of adapted them into how I train for gymnastics.
13:06Do you feel that enough is being done, generally speaking, for athletes to deal with these mental challenges that they're facing?
13:14Or were you uniquely fortunate enough to have people around you?
13:18Or is this something that most athletes would have that kind of support?
13:21I think I was very lucky.
13:23I think Institute Suka Nagaya, we actually have psychologists.
13:27But when I was training for the Olympics, I actually had extra help that came in.
13:30And it's also very difficult because there are a lot of issues.
13:36For example, I had a very, very good psychologist, but she was helping me more with the pressure of performing at the highest level.
13:45And then so the one that dealt with gymnastics specifically, like the mental box,
13:50I needed to kind of have a lot of cooperation to say that this is working and this is not working because it's always like a give and take.
13:57So one day this would work, one day this didn't work.
14:00But I think that now there's more emphasis put on like mental training.
14:05And I think it's people realize that for like top athletes, that's actually a very, very important part of being like, you know, the top 5% in the world.
14:14So a lot of people, especially top tier athletes, really hone into that mental capabilities.
14:19And I think that I was very lucky to access all that information and to be able to use it.
14:25And I think that obviously more can be done, but we are stepping in the right direction.
14:30Yeah.
14:30I also think definitely you speaking, you just, just you speaking about it now is, it's so helpful for people to hear you say that this is what you went through.
14:39Right.
14:39I think it's so helpful for everyone to know that this person who went through so much, who I think, do you feel sometimes people see you as being perfect?
14:47I think people don't realize how hard it is because being an athlete and also being just always in the public eye.
15:01And I am very grateful that Malaysia has a lot of support for athletes.
15:05And I think that also makes us feel like we're very, we have so much responsibility to the nation because our programs are obviously like the Malaysian government pays a lot for our programs.
15:19So like for go, when we go for international competitions, of course, there are some that it's a very give and take.
15:25So obviously we cannot go for everything.
15:27And if you want to, and you do, the better that you do, the more events that you'll be going for.
15:33So I've experienced everything in the spectrum.
15:37So I've been like to the Olympic Games where obviously there's a lot of funding and then to like minor games where there wasn't funding.
15:42There was a point where we paid for, to go for our own world championships because, so it's a very give and take.
15:47But because of all of that, there's a lot of pressure that's placed on us to be perfect.
15:53And if we're not, people will let us know.
15:55And so I've gotten everything, you know, I've gotten a lot of support.
16:00I've gotten people who said like, I'm too old, too injured, too big, everything that you would, you wouldn't say to a person face to face, I've gotten.
16:11But I've also gotten a lot of support.
16:13So it's always navigating through those, those two things and having all that on your shoulders.
16:18Right.
16:19And to do that, I've always been very grateful and thankful.
16:23But I've just learned to sometimes we need to like distance ourselves and just go in there and do our jobs and just do the best that we can.
16:30Yeah.
16:30And to talk about it.
16:32Yeah.
16:32Like people need to hear this.
16:33Yeah.
16:34There's a lot of times I tell people that they always ask me, so you train once a week?
16:37They're like, no, no, no, no.
16:38It's like a 6 to 7 p.m. job.
16:45Monday to Saturdays.
16:46Yeah.
16:47I'm like, we don't get like, sometimes we don't get Hari Raya off, we don't get holidays.
16:52Yeah.
16:52Yeah, it's a very hard job.
16:55People need to hear this.
16:56Absolutely.
16:57You mentioned representing Malaysia at the Olympics.
17:01Yes.
17:01Everyone knows this, of course.
17:03Now, when you qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, right, it was what many of us would consider from the outside looking in, a significant milestone.
17:13Yes, it was.
17:13Right?
17:14How did it feel?
17:16Oh, so the journey to get there was a very, very long journey.
17:20I would say about eight years in the making.
17:22Um, so every time I tell this story, I always have to start with Rio because, um, actually I have to start in the 2011.
17:30So 2011 was the first time I, not qualified, so I went for my first world championships.
17:36I was alone, me and just one of my coaches.
17:39And that was quite terrifying, I must say.
17:43Because world championships is like no other competition because everyone in the world is there.
17:48And it's, it's chaotic.
17:51There's like 500 gymnasts.
17:53And it was the first time I went for such a large competition.
17:57And so I didn't do very well.
17:59Okay.
17:59Because it was, it was just like very eye-opening to me and also with the structure of everything.
18:04And then, um, I actually, because I didn't do very well, I actually called out my sister and I said, you know, I'm done gymnastics.
18:11Oh.
18:12Yeah, I was like.
18:12It could have ended there.
18:13Yeah, it could have ended there.
18:14Oh.
18:14And she was like, are you, are you feeling this way because you're, you did, you didn't do well or because you want to retire?
18:21And I'm like, oh, I trained so hard and I fail.
18:24So what's the point, right?
18:25You feel like you're at the end of your role.
18:27And then she's like, kind of calm down and just come back.
18:30So I was like, okay.
18:31Then I went for city games, did very well.
18:33And then didn't qualify to Rio.
18:36That was heartbreaking for me because I was only 0.1 off.
18:39And then going for Tokyo and so I was at world championships in Stuttgart, um, the night before.
18:48I've always been nervous, but when people say they have elephants in their stomach, I had like elephants, not butterflies, like elephants.
18:55I was so, so nervous because I felt not qualifying before.
18:59And that was like heartbreaking, not even heartbreaking.
19:02Like people say when you can feel your heartbreak, that's how I felt.
19:05And I say I'll tear up now because it was so devastating to me to not be able to go to Rio.
19:09And then, um.
19:10Point one, you said.
19:11Point one.
19:12And it was my, like, it was my fault, right?
19:14So I didn't do the best that I could do it.
19:17And, you know, that's why I always tell people, if you do 110%, if you've done everything, then you, you won't feel guilty or you wouldn't feel that you failed.
19:26Because you always, you do the best that you can do.
19:28And whatever the results, that will be the results.
19:30But I knew I didn't do my best.
19:31And that was so devastating to me.
19:34And then, so for the Stuttgart 2019, I remember feeling like I wanted to cry.
19:40Like I had all these emotions in my head.
19:42And so I just put on like a sad movie and I cried.
19:45And it was, it was very nice to have like my teammates.
19:47So all of us, it's very interesting.
19:49We all had supported each other, but we were all doing our own things that night.
19:52So we weren't talking to each other because we were all trying to process through this huge milestone that we would have to compete tomorrow.
19:57And one of us would be able to qualify because it's like an individual spot.
20:01Okay.
20:02But the morning of it, I felt very calm.
20:05And I remember just saying like a prayer saying, just give me the strength to the best that I can do to be the best of my capabilities and just to do what I've trained for and just to have a good day.
20:17And I remember because it was in the bus, it was like drizzling.
20:23And I got at the competition and my leotard, my flag actually ripped.
20:27Oh.
20:27And then my coach, oh my God.
20:30So by my coach, Ms. Tanya, she always has like a needle and thread.
20:33She always like pipette, right?
20:34So she has pins, thread, everything in her bag because we go through this.
20:38So she's like, she's throwing up like my flag on my leotard.
20:41And we go out there and I did a really good competition.
20:45My last event was a bit shaky, but then came on and like, I was one of the first few groups competing.
20:51And so the whole day I had to wait to figure out if I qualified.
20:55And at night, like the schedule came out.
20:56And then my older sister, she actually texted me because she was like, you know, refreshing that page.
21:02Checking and checking.
21:03My parents at home, my mom.
21:06When my mom tells me this story, she was so nervous because they didn't show us live.
21:09So she could only see the scores.
21:11And so she was just so nervous.
21:13And when I finally got it, I just texted my family group and I'm like, Tokyo, here we go.
21:18Yeah.
21:18And I had to step out my room because my teammates are like happy for me, but also it's like sad for them.
21:24So I like have been in, you know, like both spots.
21:26So I like removed myself from the room and I actually went to like my coach's room because she was staying in a different room.
21:31And like, we just like hugged and cried.
21:34And I just, you know, I've, that was really like a moment where I'm like, oh, I finally did it.
21:41You know, I was really like, yeah.
21:43It was really, really like a happy moment for me.
21:46And obviously we had a pandemic, but at that moment, years and years of training has gotten me here.
21:53And then I can finally like, you know, it's the, the ice cream, the dessert in my career.
22:00Yeah.
22:00That's amazing.
22:01Yeah.
22:01Like even now when you tell it, it's like, we can feel it like we're there, like we're there with you.
22:06And a big part of it was that making that comparison with Rio and then Tokyo.
22:12So I've had like my heart shattered.
22:15And then like, so it's the one thing about being an athlete, right, is you go through so many emotions, like the lowest of low and the highest of highs.
22:22Yeah.
22:23So it's just very, it's, it's a wonderful thing being an athlete, but also like, yeah, you have to go through.
22:30A lot.
22:31Yeah.
22:31As you have expressed so eloquently already.
22:35And after having gone through all of that, since you were three years old, three years old, you retired.
22:42Yeah.
22:42So retirement is often seen by many as the end of an athlete's career, but it could be the beginning of something else as well.
22:54How has it been for you?
22:56It was quite devastating for me to have to retire because I knew in my heart that it was the right move, but it took a lot to get there.
23:04Like in the gym, I was, I was feeling very demotivated.
23:07I was feeling very upset.
23:08And so like my coach, she was like, I cannot tell you what to do.
23:12It's like, you need to have make this decision.
23:15And so I had to talk to a lot of people, like my family, my sisters, like my friends.
23:21So there was a lot of people that I kind of went for advice.
23:23So people who had already retired.
23:25So I was, I was like talking to my teammate, like Tracy, she had retired like the year before.
23:30And so I asked her how, you know, so I was like hoping that people, other person could make this decision for me, you know,
23:37because then they would like lift like this weight off my shoulders.
23:40But I knew I had to make this decision, decision by myself.
23:43So I asked my older sister who also went through the same thing.
23:45She was a national athlete and then she also retired.
23:48And she's like, where's your pros and cons lifts?
23:50You know, like have this.
23:52And I think the point of me retiring was I came into the gym and I wasn't enjoying it anymore.
23:56And I was kind of very emotional.
23:59And I just told myself, you know, I don't have to be here anymore.
24:02And I knew at that point it was like, I need to like go.
24:05So I think I needed to get to that point because I would have never left if I was still happy in the gym.
24:10And it's not like I didn't enjoy training.
24:14I think it was just like I was already kind of done everything I wanted to do.
24:20I've always knew that I wanted to retire after the Olympics.
24:22And so I had already put a plan in motion.
24:24But it was just kind of trying to like squeeze that last bit of, you know, maybe.
24:29But I think it was the right decision for me.
24:31And I was at the height of my career.
24:33And I think I was just at the right moment to do it for me.
24:37And I was very lucky to be able to do it for me.
24:40Because I think a lot of athletes sometimes they don't get to choose their path where they either have to retire because they're injured or like there's other factors.
24:48But I was very lucky to be able to make the decision by myself.
24:51And not because I was injured and not because I couldn't go with training.
24:54It was just my wholeheartedly decision to leave.
24:57But saying that it was a very hard time for me because I had always identified as, you know, Farah and the gymnast.
25:03And that's what people always knew me as.
25:05And then now I'm just Farah.
25:07And I was like, who is this person?
25:09You know, who is this person without gymnastics?
25:11And I, it was very hard for me as, you know, that sometimes, for example, even Michael Phelps went through depression.
25:20A lot of very big athletes go through a period of time because you give everything of yourself.
25:25Like it's an identity that was like merged together.
25:28And then now it's like half of me is like gone.
25:31Yeah, because it's interesting that you say that because so many people who are in the public eye, such as yourself, become known for one thing.
25:42Yeah.
25:42For being that one thing.
25:43But you are so much more than that one thing.
25:46Yeah.
25:46That does it sometimes feel that because people see you as the one thing, do you start seeing yourself just as being that Olympian only as well?
25:55Like do you have to remind yourself, I'm not just this one aspect of my personality of my life.
26:00It's funny because sometimes I'd be like, oh, I'm not that person anymore.
26:04So I'm not important.
26:06I don't know.
26:07It's like sometimes I feel like that.
26:08And my friends is like, you are far ahead.
26:09Like, you know, you are far ahead.
26:11Like, you know, sometimes like, you know, you can do anything that you want.
26:14Whatever you put your mind to.
26:15I think for me, what was high was people always assumed that I would jump into something straight away.
26:21And I needed like a mourning process, you know, like to mourn that version of me and to find something new.
26:27So basically, like, you know, like you have to chisel yourself down so that you can build yourself back up.
26:32And so, yeah, it took me a while.
26:34But I think now I'm, I'm venturing.
26:37That's why people ask me, what do you do now?
26:39I'm just, I'm doing all these things because I've never been able to do all these other things.
26:43I've never been able to be like far and maybe like, you may be in broadcasting or far and in business.
26:49You know, other things that don't revolve around sport.
26:52Sport will always be my number one.
26:53It will always be where my heart is.
26:54But, you know, it's time to find something else.
26:58And I've been very lucky to be able to find that version of myself.
27:03Wow.
27:04Speaking of the multiple facets of Farah Ann, as someone who minored in gender studies.
27:09Yes, I did.
27:09You minored in gender studies.
27:11How do you think societal expectations of women, both like in and outside of sports, shaped your journey?
27:19Like, did it, did it factor in?
27:20Yeah.
27:21And do you ever feel like you needed to push back against what people expect?
27:24Yes.
27:24So it's very interesting because I did intergenerate studies and gender.
27:28I think being in sports, I believe when I was very young that because gymnastics is such a beautiful sport,
27:36that is, you have to be very strong, but also very like artistic.
27:40So it's a blend, I would say, of both very feminine and masculine characteristics.
27:46Right.
27:48And I've been very lucky to be surrounded by very strong women.
27:52And even when I was in school, I would always be, I would, you know, always challenge the boys in like running competitions.
27:57Or if the teacher would be like, oh, our boys pick up the chair.
28:00I'd be like, why?
28:01Like, I can, you know, I can do it too.
28:02Yeah.
28:03And in sports, I realized actually kind of the divide a bit when I was a bit older, it was more from like the media side,
28:11where it would always be like, oh, look at like her outfit or her hair or her makeup.
28:16Right.
28:16And it would be like, oh, the top five, like, prettiest athletes.
28:21Right.
28:22And I was like, okay.
28:23Yeah.
28:23And so that's kind of the divide and where people would always be, instead of looking at their achievements
28:30or being, them being strong or what kind of the sport itself, it became more like a beauty contest,
28:38you know, as like a female athlete.
28:40Yeah.
28:40And, and as you know, not all, it would be like in Malaysia that we are paid the same.
28:46It doesn't matter if you're female or male athlete, everything is very similar, but overseas it's not.
28:52So I think those are the device where people feel that sports is still very male dominated.
28:56And whenever like a female comes along, it's always kind of like in passing, you know?
29:03And for me, that's why I was, every time I talk about like gender or I always talk about like woman empowerment
29:10is because I think it's such an important thing that we need to talk about because sports is an argument.
29:16I think it's like, you know, I've got to be a man in the arena that everyone is there because they want to be the best at their sport.
29:23And it doesn't matter if they're female or male, they're there to, you know, be the top 1%, the best athlete that they can be,
29:30hone their skills, be strong, be all these characteristics.
29:33takes so it's very a very neutral space and that's why i love like sports because it doesn't matter
29:39if i'm female male like if i'm the best i'm the best yeah right yeah and so i think being in that
29:45background and then also understanding the multiple dynamics of um having being a woman in sports but
29:53also having my my degree it was very interesting to understand why people act the way they do and
30:00all the multi-level dynamics that are actually happening in our society that makes women feel
30:08that way or why certain people view female as kind of the lesser gender sometimes or and kids
30:16especially sometimes parents will be like oh they need to like study or they it's not very womanly
30:22yes yes all the time so i think it's very important to for me to be that role model to be saying that
30:29like if i can do it then you can do it too right to advocate for for people who don't feel empowered
30:34enough yeah and for a person like you to do it it makes it feel more real because it's strange how
30:42like you mentioned right like people are there to compete as athletes yeah and yet they put this
30:47most beautiful list best looking list yeah and sometimes the people who make that list are not
30:53like the main people who are representing the country even yeah so it's very interesting because
30:59it's and then there's also another facet to it then people will be like oh that person's too
31:05like manly it's like you know so then there's another dynamic of it of like you still want to be
31:12like feminine but then because you do sport then you're too manly then people don't like it as well
31:16right so they're very different different dynamics to like sports and it's also very interesting of
31:20why certain sports wear certain outfits and then we go into about like viewership and for example
31:26that you have like football one day it was like oh we don't pay our female athletes as much as the
31:31men because the viewership and then they were proven very very wrong with like the world female
31:35world cup right and it's interesting right when you say world cup yeah you always think about men
31:39why do females have the female world cup so these are very like interesting dynamics because with
31:44gymnastics it's not it's just the world cup it's the world cup it's not like a female world cup
31:47it's just the world cup it's about performance all the time yeah but at the same time it's judged
31:51based on looks while the performance becomes secondary sometimes it's not just how good you are at the
31:57sport it turns into how good looking you are and i think media plays a big role as well because
32:02with commentators when you talk about athlete oh like they say oh she's wearing that or she's very
32:08pretty so the the words that we use especially um are also very um interesting and also play a role
32:16in making people's viewership because when you say things that you point out so people actually
32:23like change their perception yeah and the more you hear the same thing yeah then you you it goes on
32:29like that yeah wow what changes do you think or developments would you like to see in malaysian
32:37gymnastics and broader the broader sports community in the coming years based on everything that you've just
32:42said actually right that you've already highlighted yeah i think for me it's always just growing the
32:47community i believe that gymnastics is such a wonderful sport um when you can do it as a
32:54professional it's not and for kids it's such a wonderful sport because it builds your strength
33:00it builds your flexibility teamwork there's so many facets to gymnastics that you can actually use it
33:06to go on to maybe like different sports or even just being a healthier version of yourself right
33:10and i think just like building up more of the community and to have a safe community i think some
33:16now in sports obviously a lot of highlights um about how sometimes sports are unsafe right and i think it's
33:24just to have um a good like community a safe community for kids to thrive in for juniors to thrive in and
33:31obviously to make more world-class athletes but also for people to see how fun sports is yeah you
33:39know how it can be incorporated into their lives right and it's been highlighted by some uh medical
33:47journals in fact that many elite athletes such as yourself depending on the sport that they engage in
33:53because of the rigorous training that many athletes such as yourself go through sometimes you do so much
34:00beyond what is uh a regular human is supposed to go through that then your body's a body can start
34:06to suffer later on in life right you can start feeling the pains yes we need to do you feel
34:12something needs to be done to find that balance between the extremes and finding a safe way to do
34:19this or is it just up to an individual because they have chosen that path okay so this is one of the
34:25the things that i always say where um sports is good for you yeah but elite sports is not
34:32by like the many many injuries that i've had throughout the years i think it's also finding a balance
34:37but in order to be the best um you do have to go through multiple of injuries yeah um unfortunately
34:44that's the nature of elite sports right um but in saying that there has been a lot of progression in
34:52sports science in medicine for example if you had an acl mcl injury 10 15 years ago it was like the
34:59end of your career now people have like two and are still the best in their field and it's also
35:05training based on your capabilities and what i'm saying is that like different people train well in
35:10different um ways right for example i have a teammate who builds muscles really fast so her training
35:18program is very different from mine or some people have skills that they are better at like learning
35:23so it's there's a lot of things that we can do to make sure that the athletes are safe and also not
35:29putting them in a position of harm while saying that if you have an injury sometimes it is important
35:35to take a step back or if they have to go out and compete making sure that there are the right doctors
35:42the right physios are taking care of them because i used to go to physio every single day i used to
35:47do recovery every day and it's very important for coaches and athletes to understand the physicality
35:52of it to understand the science of it to me nutrition plays such an important role that i think sometimes
35:58lacking if you go like overseas there are some teams that there is a chef on hand that comes up every
36:04single meal for each body to make sure that all of their hormones are balanced they get everything that
36:09they need so it's actually it can be down to a very specific science right i think that it's very
36:16important for us as athletes to also be more aware of but also people taking care of us because
36:23obviously when i started very young so i was like 18 competing for me at 10 like what would i know right
36:28so it's also like a community of like parents also understanding how important nutrition is
36:33yeah um even now like even if when i'm not an athlete like nutrition plays such an important
36:38role and for me even now it's like understanding which exercises work best obviously i'm not going
36:42to train six hours a day anymore right so you've earned the right to not do that actually right
36:48definitely you know it's it goes without saying that that you have a lot to be proud of when it comes
36:55to your achievements in in the sports in sports in the sports arena right what are you most proud of
37:02if you took sports aside what are you most proud of i think if i took sports aside is actually just
37:09having okay so i can always categorize it as you know having a wonderful like family
37:16um and to have that support system yeah uh i'm also very proud of the person that i am not in sports
37:27so if it's very hard to say because a lot of the values that i've learned is through sports but
37:32i think that the values that i have and what i want in life is very
37:46yeah it's a lot to think about right it's a lot to answer this yeah um yeah it doesn't even have to
37:52be the perfect it there's no right or wrong answer it's just what right now at this moment it could
37:57change later on but at this moment what comes to mind yeah yeah just having i'm very proud of
38:05just being surrounded by like people that i trust and the values that i have in life yeah i think are
38:14something that i'm proud of right and these values exist outside of sports as well right yeah yeah you know
38:22sports have like you know has helped me build it but i think that you know that's really saying
38:28a lot about you know my upbringing and like having my family around me and like very good friends and
38:33like all the people around me have taught me both sides right so that people have taught me what you
38:41know strengthen myself but the good people have been there to support me yeah it's like almost like
38:46constantly having to remind people that you're a whole person you're a whole person you're not just the
38:51athlete you're a whole person you know what advice would you give to parents who want to support
38:56their child in pursuing competitive sports while ensuring they maintain a healthy relationship with
39:02it as well you've mentioned a little bit about it already making sure that training is done right
39:06nutrition is important is there anything like is there a psychological mental side support side of it
39:11yes of course um so my accent don't get a camera like so my parents uh they never forced me to do
39:19gymnastics oh right yeah they yes i started very young so obviously they were there to like you know
39:25send me a train sentence but they were never there to be you have to do sports you have to go for it
39:31they were they never forced it upon me so it was really much my decision to be able to
39:36choose the spot for me right um it took a lot of effort for them because um they need to send me
39:44every day for trainings so it is the job of like parents to support their children yeah because they
39:51won't be able to do it by themselves so it's your job is to be there to be a supporting a guiding head
39:58so that's my advice to parents like be there for your children because they will go through a lot when
40:03they're injured when they're down when you don't win or when they win it's very important for you to
40:09be there right for them and for you it was always your choice is that yes you're saying which is not
40:14the case for this which is not what everyone goes through right so you were fortunate i was very
40:19fortunate to have parents who loved sports and they wanted to see their children succeed so i think that
40:26was a very good point that allowed me to choose but i think also for parents is that it's a sacrifice
40:35you need to make to be able to be there for your children sounds like you really appreciate your
40:40parents a lot because i wouldn't like i wouldn't be here here without like my family do they know do
40:46they know how much you appreciate them yes i think so i've told them many times i hope they know
40:50yeah i've been um yeah so they've been that that was the one thing with tokyo that i was a bit um
40:59sad about because they couldn't be there and it was my last competition oh yeah so we i had planned
41:04out a whole thing of like you know getting business class tickets for them you know to fly there like
41:08stay in a nice hotel you know for me it was just a way to say like thank you because they they try
41:13always to go for all my competitions especially international ones and um especially if me and my sister
41:18were competing because it does take a lot of money yeah um to fly for this competition to buy the
41:23tickets and so they had already bought the tickets they had everything was kind of done yeah and then
41:29the pandemic happened so yeah so that was like my one regret is not having my parents there wow
41:35that's the one thing you would change yeah because i think it's such a family affair so even my sister
41:41i would have loved to have my whole family there it's more of just like just experience it as a
41:45family yeah right yeah wow you know to because it's not just me so you were robbed of that yeah
41:50that's the only thing i was like oh i wished but it doesn't take away how proud they are of you
41:56though right yeah and of your achievements yeah i hope so i know so based on what you're telling me i
42:03know so and you know speaking of appreciation we appreciate you joining us we've got rapid fire
42:08questions for you now okay so you gotta the first thing that comes to mind is one answer okay i'll
42:14try wait here we go here okay the skill that gave you the most trouble you can go twist oh okay google
42:21it yes google it if you could choreograph a routine to any song what would it be hmm oh i have the song
42:30in my head i don't know the name of it okay how does it go you can sing it uh no no behind my phone
42:36are we gonna hear farah and sing for the very first time no um i'll send you the track that you
42:41can overlay it okay it is this song this song insert song it's a title of song farah and will remember
42:49and then she will send it to us yes so it's not right now yeah but yeah you know the reason okay
42:54explaining my my thing because i was listening to this song and i was choreographing a routine in my
42:58head i'll be like oh this would be so good cute for like a kid to do yeah and then yeah i had like
43:02a few moves that i thought it would be cute so yes now we need to see this routine as well
43:08because people don't understand how hard it is for us to choreograph like my coach miss
43:13natalia like she choreographs all my routines and it takes her like months because she looks at the
43:17person she has to like see what they you know kind of their vibe right people use vibe differently but
43:23i mean like they're i don't even like because i'm like i'm not that generation i'm a little older
43:29than that but yeah so it's like a whole thing and then she will ask us our opinion and then we do the
43:34move so it takes a lot for us to get like routines so this song would be perfect yes i i feel like i
43:39pretty could also probably perform to this song all right this song this song they cut out all my
43:44explanation and then i filled it together we would never do that to you farah and we would never yeah
43:50now if you could compete in any other olympic sport what would it be ice skating ice skating yes and
43:55you've done it like i in your own time i've done it once or twice and to the dismay of my mom because
44:01my mom is canadian okay and so i like hockey and you know ice so i should be better but i'm not but
44:07i feel that i would because i love love watching it right i know that i'll be able to do it if i train
44:15i think if i put the same amount of passion in ice skating and gymnastics i'd be able to do both
44:19who's an athlete any sport that you'd love to train with for a day nico david oh that i feel
44:25like that has might have already happened it has already happened okay she's so nice right i did
44:31she invited me to play squash with her and i won one point against her that's right and it's a pity
44:35point she was like no it's not i'm like ma'am you play squash with her i'm terrible at every other
44:43sport except for gymnastics it is so funny when people like play sports with me when i'm terrible at it
44:48they're like yeah i said i won skill which is gymnastics if you had to describe gymnastics
44:53in one word what would it be amazing oh right what's your go-to post-competition meal or snack
45:00it's funny because if you google 2015 there is a there is like literal like newspaper articles
45:07so i've asked for like cake i asked my family to bring a cake for me cake is there a specific
45:13cake no it just doesn't matter i just want cake just cake cake and fried chicken oh together so you
45:20can eat fried chicken and then you know what this is a judgment-free zone if you want to eat your fried
45:25chicken and your cake together listen and we don't judge that is the trend we shall yes you're making it
45:30happen we are that young well you are okay final one if you had like the opportunity to make one
45:38change as prime minister of malaysia yeah for a day okay i have answer for this okay what would you be
45:45and why i would make sure that there are ways for people to walk on the street oh oh my god i have
45:52that what is it pavements thank you no like walkways yes not enough not enough right you need to be able to
45:59walk so have like walkways for people to be able to walk and public transport right yes you heard it
46:04here yes it's official now more walkways the reason you start with the walkways because you in order
46:11to be healthier you need to walk more because a lot of people live sedentary lives but you can't walk
46:15because nowhere to walk in malaysia you're right if there is a park if you'll be able if you can work
46:19next to a park so the walkways will walk through the park so then we built like parks so then people
46:22can be healthier and when people healthier they're happier and so when you have happy people you know
46:26know people are healthier and so you know like malaysia is like top five if you have the highest
46:30ranked obesity rates in like the world so you know that's the plan see if you work for dbkl you are
46:41going to get a letter or maybe a proposal from farah ann i am not arguing with anything that you have
46:49to say because i agree completely that's right but we appreciate you again thank you so much for
46:54for being me yeah you're amazing you're amazing most of farah ann for the next elections yes thank you