Wille Loo found his passion for triathlons during his time doing National Service. photo Joey Lu

WILLE LOO is probably unique compared to most triathletes you know as he picked up the sport while in the Singaporean Army. 

He took Bronze at the 2015 SEA Games and talks to us here about his hopes and aims for this year’s Games in Kuala Lumpur. 

When did you start competing in triathlon and how long was it until you realised you had a real talent for the sport?

I picked up triathlon around 2002 while I was serving my national service in the Army.  I finished towards the front of my age group in my first couple of races and realised that I had a big advantage coming from a swimming background. I don’t think I have a real talent for triathlon, I just really love the sport and really like racing.

What have been your biggest triathlon successes to date?

My Bronze medal at the 2015 SEA Games is probably the biggest result I’ve had racing the ITU format.  I really enjoyed winning my AG a couple of times when Singapore still had an Ironman 70.3 race.

Wille takes the lead in the bike section of a triathlon. photo Chin KK

What did it feel like to qualify for the SEA Games and how much does it meant to you to be representing your country at the competition?

 Qualifying for the SEA Games again (I qualified in 2015 as well) was extremely satisfying.  Leading into the selection trials, I wasn’t one of the favourites that people were talking about.  I raced aggressively, breaking away very early on the bike.  I felt I took control of the race and gave myself the best shot at qualifying.

Representing my country isn’t something I thought about much in the past but being selected to compete at a major games has been a real privilege.  It gives me a lot of pride to be able to compete for my family and friends. 

This will be the second time Wille has competed at the SEA Games. photo Joey Lu

In which discipline of triathlon do you have to work the hardest and where do you excel? How hard are you currently training?

 I have a background in swimming and used to play waterpolo, so the swim used to be where I felt most comfortable.  I’ve really tried to focus on the bike in the last year or so.  I’ve found the extra riding has helped me to be a bit stronger on the run and it gives me more confidence to be able to be more proactive on the bike, making the moves instead of just following the pack.

Wille has had many triathlon successes including bronze at the last SEA Games. photo Ohmarkerly Ambrosio

My wife and I just had our second child, so training hours are at a real premium.  It has been a challenge to get the necessary hours so when I do get to go out to train, I really try to make sure it counts.  Every session ends up being pretty hard, but I’m optimistic that I’ll get more training done once the kids cooperate! 

What will you be focused on after the Games this August?

One of the big goals I have is to qualify for the Asian Games in 2018.  The qualifying standard is pretty high and quite beyond where I am now.  Even though I’m getting pretty old, I still feel that I’ve got the capacity to make big improvements so that keeps me motivated to try for that.  After that, I hope to be able to compete at one more SEA Games in 2019, over in the Philippines.

I’ve always like racing the 70.3 distance so I’ll probably do a couple of races for a bit of fun and variety towards the end of this year.

Wille also aims to be competing at the SEA Games in 2019 in the Philippines. photo Joey Lu