Story by Colin Tung/Red Sports

Zach

Zachary Ryan looking on forlornly from the stands. (Photo 1 © Marvin Lowe/Red Sports)

Bishan Stadium, Friday, July 3, 2009 — As the 800m final got underway, Singapore athlete Zachary Ryan Devaraj looked on from the spectator stands, immersed in the unfolding race.

Ever felt like you wanted to be somewhere that you cannot be? Restless energy lay bound up in his body as his imagination ran the race for him, wondering what might have transpired had things turned out differently.

That was what Zachary Devaraj felt after he had missed his 800m heat on Wednesday, owing to a delay in his test results for H1N1. He was isolated for 18 hours while waiting for the results, but reached the stadium 15 minutes too late and could not post a time to qualify for the final today.

Zachary said ruefully, “I wish I could have been there running with them. They were running within my pace.”

Zachary’s father, Simon, agreed, “He would have been under two minutes looking at how he controlled the races he ran last Saturday and Sunday at the WALAA meet (where he clocked personal best marks of 2:01 and 4:18 in the 800m and 1500m respectively).”

The winning time was 1:55.91 minutes by India’s Kumar Ravi.

Simon had also caught the 800m final from the stands but although Zachary was sitting on the other side of the stadium in the athletes’ area, he imagined his son on the track.

He said, “Of course as I was watching the race, I was figuring out where my son would be in there.”

Simon had taken leave from work for the 800m final, expecting his son to run in it. He had bought tickets for the final and Thursday’s semi-final, which was later scrapped for a straight final. Both times, he found himself having to recoup the money spent by looking for buyers for the tickets.

Simon was visibly more relaxed than he was on Wednesday after Zachary had been freed from isolation and rushed to his race only to realise it had started without him.

Simon shared, “I had a meeting this afternoon with some senior medical authorities to clarify two things mainly — why I, as the parent, wasn’t first informed about his isolation and, secondly, why the delays in getting his results occurred. Another important thing was to present my son’s perspective (as a runner) in light of those things unfolding around him at the time.

“People have to understand that this is not about my son alone but this could have happened to any other athlete and it is disappointing for an athlete to miss a race he has trained for for so long.

“But my head is clear now. Though we did not exactly agree on everything, I want to assure everyone that the authorities have the athletes at heart. They are all pro-Singapore and pro-athletes and perhaps some constraints on communication let us down,” he said.

Some may remember that the Singapore table tennis team had their match postponed because of similar H1N1 fears, after they had come into contact with a teammate who had tested positive for it.

In reference to the incident and why Zachary was not extended the same leeway, Simon clarified, “For the table tennis team, they did not have flu. Though my son and I did not agree with the diagnosis, the doctor who attended to my son thought he had flu so it was different.”

The meeting was fruitful for Simon in more ways than one. He revealed that after the meeting, legendary English former 800m world record holder and double 1500m Olympic champion Lord Sebastian Coe was in the vicinity and an opportunity to take a photograph with him presented itself.

Zachary had shared in an earlier interview with Red Sports that he holds an admiration for Coe after being introduced to him through talks he had with his father when he was younger.

When asked how he felt about his father’s photograph opportunity with him, he remarked, “I wish I was in the photo as well.”

He will certainly get his chance as long as he keeps training hard. One day, perhaps, he may even receive a medal from the hands of Lord Coe himself. Then, he will have all the photographers in the world clamouring to take a photograph of them together instead.