CHOONG Joseph

General
RIO REDEMPTION IN TOKYO
He says that nerves got the better of him at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, especially affecting his shooting. He says he wants to redeem himself by becoming the first male British athlete to win an individual Olympic medal in modern pentathlon at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. "I went into it [the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro] having taken a year out from my degree, so I was fitter than ever and despite not having made a huge impact on senior competitions up until that point I still thought I could medal there. My memories of Rio are it was one of the best weeks of my life but in the end nerves got the better of me, I didn't shoot that well. So, while I did really enjoy it, ever since then it's been, 'I want to redeem myself and get a medal at the next Olympics', which is what I think I should have been able to do at the first one. That's my thoughts going into Tokyo, that I'm going to prove to myself that I am good enough for an Olympic medal. It's definitely something I use to motivate myself through tough sessions. I've sort of gone back to the drawing board, I've worked on what I needed to and I've come back stronger and more confident in myself that I can get the medal that I missed out on in Rio, in the coming Games in Tokyo, I hope." (eveningexpress.co.uk, 31 Jul 2019; sportside.com, 16 Apr 2017; olympics.com, 02 Jan 2021)

FUTURE PLANS
While he says he enjoys the variety in modern pentathlon he says he would consider focussing on one individual sport in the future. "I'd love to try something a bit different. I like the idea of seeing how good I could be at individual events, so I definitely want to do some fencing World Cups and grand prixs. Also I feel I've done the whole swimming thing when I was younger but I'd love becoming just a track runner for a while. I'd have no idea how to get into that at the moment so we'll see." (sportside.com, 16 Apr 2021)