You Could Knock Me Out With A Blue Gel Pen

“Seb, would you oblige me with your autograph?”

“Of course, Shirley.”

(Yes, we had been acquainted before this conversation.)

As he removed the cap off the blue gel pen, I continued… “I used to have a small portrait of you… I wonder if you remember Russel Wong?”

“The photographer? Yes, I know him. 1979.”

“Yes, the very one. I lost it in a fire, together with an autographed picture of Henry Rono. Russel had photographed the both of you and he gave them to me because he knew I was such a fan. The pictures were among my prized possessions that got gutted.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Here you go…”

As much as I would have liked to engage Sebastian Coe in a longer conversation, I had to release him to a journalist waiting for a doorstop interview at the Main Media Centre of the Youth Olympic Games at Marina Bay Sands Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Lord Coe walked away briskly, while I followed in his path, in reverie, all the while looking at his autograph. I consoled myself that his handwriting in my book is more valuable than that lost picture.

I recalled that it was in 1977 when Seb won his first major race – 800m at the European Indoor Championships in Saint Sebastian, Spain.

In 1978, the Sebastian Coe-Steve Ovett rivalry heated up. As fate would have it, neither men won, nor did either win his first major encounter in the European Championships in Prague in the Czech Republic. Steve Ovett finished second and Seb, third, behind Olaf Beyer from East Germany in the 800m. Steve Ovett’s time of 1:44.09s, however, broke Seb’s UK record. But a few weeks later, Seb reclaimed the UK record with a 1:43.97s finishing at the UK All-Comers meet at Crystal Palace. The time ranked him second in the World that year.

Later in the year, Seb won the 4-Mile Road Race in Ireland in 17:54s – beating Eamonm Coghlan who would become the 1983 World 5,000m champion and Mike McLeod who went on to win the 1984 OIympic 10,000m Silver medal – and in the process, taking 11s off the Course record held by Brendan Foster.

In 1979, in a space of 41 days, Seb rewrote three World records – 800m in 1:42.33s and Mile in 3:48.95s, in Oslo, Norway, and 1,500m in 3:32.03s in Zurich, Switzerland.

Seb was Athletes World’s and Track and Field News’ “Athlete of the Year 1979”.

And I “fell in love” with him.

As a cub reporter with Singapore’s afternoon tabloid, New Nation, I could go through the wire stories that came in, and I remember enjoying the thrill of announcing to my editor that “Seb Coe has broken yet another record.”

In 1979, Seb obliged Russell Wong – then a university undergraduate – with a sitting. That portrait of Seb, I was to learn years later, gave Russell the break he needed to be recognised as a serious photographer.

With all these memories flashing back, I turned the corner and who should I see but…

“Russel Wong! What are you doing here?” I yelled out.

“I just bumped into Seb and he said, ‘Shirley lost a picture of me when her home got gutted. Can you replace it for her?’, and I was wondering, “Huh? Which Shirley?’ So it’s you! What happened to your home?” Russel was speaking nineteen to the dozen.

It turned out that Russel was shooting someone in the next building, heard that Seb was around and popped by to say hullo.

I had not thought anymore of my lament to Seb just minutes earlier but here was such kindness that he was showing me. Here is the difference between a Winner and a Champion: A Champion cares for his fellow competitors, his supporters, his fans. And when and where he can make the difference, he does.

Russel said he will give me another picture of Seb.

Sunday, 15 August 2010. You could knock me out with a blue gel pen.