I Nominate Josiah Ng

I’ve been asked many times now, “How’s married life, Kim?” I had various forms of answers. I was talking about commitment, a lifetime partnership, “I’ll report to you again next year.” My short and crisp answer would be “Married life is sexy.”

My hubz.

If he wasn’t an international cyclist, he would be an F1 driver or a car racer, and he was this close to joining the Merdeka race last year.

I pushed for Josiah in the AYA Awards two years ago, he was quite close to being a finalist but did not make the mark. A doctor who went to a third world country to treat patients did charity and won the award, if I’m not mistaken. This time, I’m nominating him for the Honda’s “Our Challenging Spirit” in Honda’s quest to select the ultimate role-model to represent the following qualities.

DEDICATION. PASSION. CHALLENGE. REFINEMENT.

Josiah definitely encompasses all the qualities above but I will choose to highlight the “refinement” quality in him for this competition. If Josiah wins, he will receive exclusive Honda merchandises. I wonder what they could be, it does not really matter. I’ll be really happy if he’s selected.

I’m choosing Josiah because I really admire him. I think it is not wrong for me to admire my husband. I see all the positive qualities in him, I see how he strives for success, I love him even more every day. You might say I am biased, or I am trying to promote him as his PR Manager. It’s all true, and I won’t deny it. Why, because I think he’s worth the effort for me to further promote and motivate him. I think our Malaysian sportsmen need that, and they are lacking that kind of support (if you had seen some of my previous articles on cycling regarding this topic).

re•fine•ment (r -f n m nt)
n.
1. The act of refining.
2. The result of refining; an improvement or elaboration.
3. The state or quality of being refined; cultivation, as in manners or taste.
4. A keen or precise phrasing; a subtle distinction.

This is where Josiah is now (refinement) – after he passed all of the following:

HONDA: PASSION

Josiah’s first ever bike. He never stopped cycling since then.

Let’s get to know Josiah a little more. This is a video I created for us for our wedding slideshow. The first part features Josiah and the second part features me. Don’t laugh okay.

HONDA: CHALLENGE

Josiah’s first BMX bicycle.

Going through the ups and downs of cycling, insisting on cycling and disregarding his parents’ dreams of him graduating in music and business, he decided to graduate in cycling on his own and left home at 18 to earn on his own and continue cycling. That was the biggest challenge ever, baking cookies – doing odd jobs to make ends meet just so he could race. Later on, he knocked on Malaysia’s door (while he was based in the U.S.) and won Malaysia’s first race and represented Malaysia from then onwards.

The next challenge would be the constant criticisms from the media “Josiah Fails to Deliver Gold Medal” and the likes of it. But, in spite of that, there were still people who were supportive of him.

Then, it’s also the challenge of injuring himself like he did in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Mallorca Spain in 2007 when he broke his collarbone just a year before Beijing Olympics 2008. There were also numerous other injuries like breaking his finger and getting splinters into his body skin.

The final challenge is of course having to face a long-distance relationship with his wife, me – constantly, almost every other month. Imagine thinking about the wife when he’s cycling, and being in an entirely different mode of training and racing. How did he do it and still pursue his cycling regardless. He’s so mentally strong. I thought I’m already quite strong, but he’s stronger. How can I not admire him more each day?

HONDA: DEDICATION

He was the first after a long drought of no-medals at any level since Malaysia’s last legend M.Kumaresan. After only a few years, Josiah spearheaded a team of capable cyclists with his enthusiasm and passion in cycling. Found top coach John Beasley from Melbourne, Australia who eventually brought up Malaysia’s name in the cycling world. Malaysia now has top cyclists like Azizul Hasni Awang and Rizal Tisin who occasionally achieves greater awards than Josiah, but to my hero, seeing his team-mates succeed is the best feeling ever. Josiah was a mentor to his team. Azizul Hasni Awang (pocket-rocket man) has a nickname “Lil Jojo”, named as “Josiah Junior” because many saw Azizul as the younger version of Josiah, as they were both feisty – smaller in size compared to international competitors, but still bursting with energy.

He is so loveable.

There are now more than 10 cyclists training in Melbourne (did you know this?) because they are all capable to enter world level competitions. Surely you remember how we used to have only Josiah at the Athens Olympics 2004 and then we had two other members join Josiah at the Beijing Olympics 2008. It was a remarkable success for Josiah seeing his fellow team-members grow, as he continues to push himself further. This is what I call real dedication. Not even compromising his cycling for any other things in his life. A great example is leaving back for Japan the day after he gets married, to race in Keirin. He balances other things so well, leaving enough time for his family members, social life and other things that he love – like watching the philharmonic orchestra, dining, shopping, spending time with his friends, family and so on.

He even has time to vacuum his house.

Sweet or not?

JOSIAH NG: BIODATA

Full Name: Josiah Ng Onn Lam
Date of Birth: 02 February 1980
Citizenship: Malaysian
Race: Chinese
Religion: Christian
Place of Birth: Manila, Phillippines
Height: 174cm / 5′9”
Weight: 79kgs / 176lbs
Coach: John Beasley (Melbourne, Australia)
Representing: Malaysian Team
Awards:
2004 Malaysian Olympian & Sportsman of the Year
UCI Track World Cup Ranking:
Keirin Year 2002 to 2003 – Ranked No.1
Keirin Year 2004 to 2005 – Ranked No.3
Keirin Year 2005 to 2006 – Ranked No.1
8 times World Cup Medallist

Malaysia’s current track cyclist Josiah Ng is vying for a medal at the London Olympics 2012. He became the 2004 Malaysian Olympian and Sportsman of the Year after participating in the Athens Olympics 2004, 8-times world medallist bagging the first place in the UCI Track World Cup in the keirin event three times and is still competing internationally.

Josiah, pronounced as “Jo-Sai-Yah” seems to find himself more commonly recognised as “Jo-See-Yah” in Malaysia. His biblical name was given to him by his parents which means King of Judah. But, Josiah Ng is certainly our King of Cycling.

At fourteen years old, this gung-ho kid bought his first used-racing bicycle for USD$250. Six years later, he represented Malaysia for the first time at the Asian Championships in Shanghai. He grew up joining numerous cycling races and mixing with people who would offer advice and share their experiences in the professional arena. Today, he has established himself as one of the top track cyclist in the world. He is constantly ranked in the top ten. When asked what his next aim is, he replied, “My biggest goal is to bring home glory to my home country at the Beijing Olympics 2008.”

Josiah starts his typical day by going to the gym at 8am for a good two hours. After a good workout, the health conscious sportsman packs in with his own cooked lunch! Afternoons are filled with road or track cycling. The latter is accompanied by motor-pacing. This involves having a motorcycle in the draft of Josiah’s bicycle, driven by an experienced driver. This allows him to go faster than he would and gauge his speed while being paced. The long day ends with a quiet dinner before finally hitting the bed for a good night’s rest.

As any successful man would be quick to admit, the road to success is never a smooth one. And for this aspiring cyclist, this is more than a mere metaphor. The most recent ‘’bump’’ was during the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Mallorca, Spain in April 2007. Josiah broke his collarbone when a cyclist’s back wheel caught Josiah’s front wheel causing the crash. A month before the recent crash, Josiah was hit by the motorcycle during a motor-pacing training due to the condition of the velodrome track ground causing him to bruise his hip. Another serious injury occurred two years ago when he broke his finger during a crash. However, in spite of all the unforeseen circumstances and battle wounds, Josiah picked himself up – quickly worked at healing his wounds (eg. obeying his doctor) and continued his training to achieve his goals – hoping to win a medal at London Olympics 2012.

How confident is Josiah in achieving his next goals? “I am confident that I will put my whole heart and soul into what I do. I know that I am capable and on the day of truth, I will put everything on the line to achieve my goals.”

The young Josiah.

The grown-up Josiah.

Man of speed Josiah is an all-rounder in sports and music.

HONDA: REFINEMENT

Josiah is now refining his life. He travels into a different phase in life now and still continues with his dedication, passion and challenge to cycle for Malaysia. Actually, one would almost think that Josiah may not have the time to even get married, but here’s an example of possibilities. Here’s a clear example of dreams coming true.

Success is not just about achieving the gold, it’s about a balance in all areas of life – the satisfaction and enjoyment one achieves. Just like driving a Honda car.

BLOG THIS: SUPPORT JOSIAH

When I google Josiah Ng, I find that many people have blogged about him before. Will all these same people and more, please help to support Josiah for Honda’s “Our Challenging Spirit” award:

1. Blog about Josiah for this nomination to push for him to win.
2. Link back to www.honda.com.my/ourchallengingspirit
3. Drop me a comment on this blog entry to let me know if you’ve pushed for him. It could be a full blog entry or even a line of something.

“Josiah Ng, our Malaysian Track Cyclist has his passion, challenge and dedication and is ultimately REFINING his skills in helping Malaysia achieve a medal at the London Olympics 2012.”

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