Beyond the dream: Sport dietitian on fuelling Singapore athletes 'like an F1 car'

In Singapore's sports landscape, Olivia Wong is a key figure in shaping the future of athletic performance.

As a sport dietitian at Singapore Sport Institute (SSI), a division under Sport Singapore (SportSG) supporting Team Singapore athletes, Olivia's work is central to the success of athletes, a story vividly illustrated in AsiaOne's Beyond the Dream video series.

Here we explore Olivia's career journey, her daily role, and the collaborative efforts that contribute to athletes' excellence.

From finance to fitness

Olivia's professional path is a story of passion and change.

Initially working in finance as an auditor, Olivia felt unfulfilled in the field. Her deep-seated love for food and sports - evident from her involvement in track and field, netball, and various outdoor activities in her school days - prompted her to pivot towards sport nutrition.

"I realised that my true calling was in combining sports with nutrition. It was a significant change, but it felt like the right path," Olivia shared.

She pursued a degree in dietetics and worked as a clinical dietitian. Later, she took up an International Olympic Committee (IOC) sports nutrition diploma, and when the opportunity to "marry sport nutrition knowledge with real hands-on experience" at SportSG came, she went for it and never looked back.

A day in the life of a sport dietitian

From one-on-one consultations with athletes to collaborative meetings with her team, Olivia's daily routine is dynamic and varied.

Olivia's role involves crafting nutrition plans that enhance athletic performance, likened to fine-tuning a high-performance Formula One (F1) car.

"I see athletes as an F1 car and food as fuel for the race car. Without adequate fuel, it is difficult for the car to perform optimally."

"[My] job as a dietitian is really to help understand how to top up this fuel and how to fill the tank so that they can contribute to their speed and performance," she noted.

Together with her sports science colleagues from other disciplines - biomechanics, physiology, psychology, and more - they form a unified support system for each athlete. Olivia's role is to integrate her nutritional expertise into the broader support framework.

One poignant story features Olivia's work with an endurance athlete, Team Singapore cyclist Darren Lim, who was previously under-fuelling. Olivia's targeted nutritional strategies over the past two years has contributed to improvements in Darren's performance, demonstrating the power of proper nutrition.

Even when Darren was in the recovery phase after an accident while preparing for the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, the cyclist worked together with Olivia to nourish his body while treating his physical condition with the support of the physiotherapy department, as well as the strength and conditioning department.

"I think it's essential to have regular conversations with other support teams when an athlete is injured."

"This holistic approach ensures that all aspects of the athlete's performance are optimised," Olivia added.

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As part of the Kallang Alive Masterplan, better facilities, such as new sports science and sports medicine facilities, plus a centralised location for national training centres and the Sports School, athletes and sport professionals such as Olivia will be able to achieve better synergy with one another.

Looking forward

Olivia envisions integrating advanced technology into sport nutrition over the next five to 10 years. "I see technology playing a crucial role in refining nutrition strategies," she told AsiaOne.

For example, Olivia tracks her athletes' diet intake remotely while they are training overseas so she can make real-time adjustments to their nutrition to enhance performance.

Her goal is to leverage technological advancements to provide even more effective support to athletes.

Additionally, under the Sport Excellence (spex) framework, the new spexEducation Undergraduate Scholarship seeks to alleviate the financial burden of tuition fees for athletes who want to pursue tertiary education at the same time.  

The video also highlights the expanding opportunities within the field.

With local universities now offering nutrition degrees and the sports industry growing, Olivia sees a promising future for aspiring dietitians.

"The sports scene in Singapore has evolved significantly," she noted. "There are more opportunities and a greater recognition of the role of nutrition in sports."

"I think the possibilities are endless and there is a wide range of careers in sports as well, including nutrition, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, physiology, psychology, and even physiotherapy," said Olivia, adding that she hopes the current athletes can inspire the younger ones to use nutrition and other areas of sports science in their sporting careers as well.

"This is my dream," she ended the interview with a smile.

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This article is brought to you in partnership with Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth.

lynette@asiaone.com