Saiyidah Aisyah Mohamed Rafa’ee (born 20 April 1988), commonly known as Aisyah, is a Singaporean rower.[2][3] She placed 23rd in the women's single sculls event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, making her Singapore's first Olympic rower.[4][5]
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| Full name | Saiyidah Aisyah Mohamed Rafa’ee | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 April 1988[1] Singapore | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editAisyah was a Student Development Officer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic which she resigned in August 2015 to train full time for the Olympics Games.[6]
Rowing career
editIn 2013, Aisyah won the gold medal in the women's single sculls event at the 2013 SEA Games, the first rowing gold medal for Singapore.[7]
2016 Olympics
editIn 2015, Aisyah moved to Sydney, Australia to train to qualify for the women's single sculls event at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[8] However she failed to secure Team Singapore's Sports Excellence Scholarship and had to rely on her savings to fund her training.[8]
In February 2016, Aisyah turned to crowdfunding for her training and raised S$12,500.[9] Aisyah would later received the Sports Excellence Scholarship in March.[8]
In April, Aisyah won the B final of the 2,000 metres women's single sculls event at the 2016 Fisa Asia and Oceania Continental Olympic Qualification Regatta and became the first Singaporean rower to qualify for the Olympic Games.[10]
In June, Singaporean fried chicken restaurant chain 4Fingers Crispy Chicken, sponsored Aisyah for three months with a total of S$6,000 and part of the proceeds from sales of its burgers.[9]
During the 2016 Olympics Games, Saiyidah qualified from her heats for the quarterfinals.[6] Despite improving on her time, she was placed last in the quarterfinals.[11] In the semifinals, Saiyidah was placed last again and competed in the D finals.[11] She finished fifth out of six rowers and was placed 23rd overall.[11]
In end 2017, Aisyah announced her retirement.[12]
2024 Olympics
editIn October 2023, after meeting other Olympians during an Olympics Broadcast Training Programme, Aisyah decided to make a comeback for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[12]
In April 2024, Aisyah competed at the women’s 2,000m lightweight single sculls at the Asian and Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta in Chungju, South Korea to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[13] To qualify for the Olympics Games, she had to finish in the first five out of six competitors but she finished sixth.[13] Due to qualification rules, the second placed Japanese rower was denied qualification as Japan had maximised their quota with wins in the men's and women's double sculls events.[13] As a result, Aisyah was given the last qualification spot and qualified for the Olympics.[13]
Personal life
editAisyah is of Malay ethnicity.[14] She moved to Boston, Massachusetts, United States in June 2019 and married American Ross Zuckerman in October.[15]
Sporting achievements
edit- 2015 SEA Games, Women's Lightweight Single Sculls (LW1X) 1000m - Bronze
- 2015 SEA Games, Women's Lightweight Single Sculls (LW1X) 500m - Bronze
- 2013 Myanmar SEA Games, Women's Lightweight Single Sculls – Gold
- 2011 Jakarta SEA Games, Women's Single Sculls – Bronze
- 2011 Jakarta SEA Games, Women's Pair – Bronze
- 2007 Jakarta SEA Games, Women's Lightweight Single Sculls – Bronze
References
edit- ^ Ganesan, Deepanraj (29 February 2024). "Singapore rower Saiyidah Aisyah takes significant step in Paris Olympics dream". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Saiyidah Aisyah". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
Saiyidah Aisyah Mohamed Rafa'ee
- ^ "About Aisyah". AisyahRower.com. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
Full name: Saiyidah Aisyah Mohamed Rafa'ee
- ^ "Saiyidah Mohamed Rafa'ee". Rio2016.com. Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ "Women's Single Sculls - Standings". Rio2016.com. Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ a b Wong, Jonathan (7 August 2016). "Singapore's 1st Olympic rower Saiyidah overcomes tough conditions to advance to quarter-finals". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ "I've not given up on rowing, says Olympic athlete Aisyah". TODAY. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Nothing could keep Singaporean rower from Olympic dream". ESPN.com. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ a b Tan, Noah. "Aisyah gets helping hand for Rio Games". Today Online. Mediacorp Press. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ John, Aleysa (25 April 2016). "Rowing: Saiyidah becomes first Singaporean rower to qualify for Olympics". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Rio wrap-up: Team Singapore - Rowing". TODAY. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ a b Ganesan, Deepanraj (11 January 2024). "Seven years after Rio Olympics, Singaporean rower Saiyidah Aisyah aims for another shot at Paris 2024". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "From tears to joy: How Singapore rower Saiyidah Aisyah qualified for the Paris Olympics at 36". CNA. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ Crawford, Amanda (1 May 2022). "AAPI Heritage: Aisyah's story". Hydrow. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ "Former rowing champ Saiyidah Aisyah qualifies for Boston Marathon". Yahoo News. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
