🥇FROM OLYMPIC TRACKS TO LEGAL STACKS: TIMOTHEE YAP

As the Olympics take the world by storm, we speak to an SAL member who is intimately connected to the great games.

BY JOSHUA NEOH

Few of us will ever experience the thrill of being at the Olympics. An even smaller number would have experienced it as an athlete. 

But one SAL member can tell you all about the adrenaline of competing in the world’s biggest sporting competition alongside legends like Usain Bolt.

That’s Mr Timothee Yap, a Senior Associate with Allen & Gledhill, who competed in the 100m dash at the 2016 Rio Olympics against Bolt.

The experience was the culmination of a journey that began back in 2004, when he started running with his father and grandfather, both former athletes themselves.

“I remember always taking long runs with my dad and I thought he was the fastest man alive when I was younger, so I thought the best way I could keep up or beat him would be to join the track and field team.”

Although Timothee didn’t best Bolt, being able to represent Singapore was glory enough. It was especially rewarding after years of juggling law school with athletic commitments. These involved up to 11 training sessions a week, each lasting between two to three hours.

The journey was one full of sacrifices: turning down time with friends to train, having to leave class the moment it ends to make it in time for training, studying instead of resting, and the list goes on. 

But the experience underscores the value of a strong support system and the importance of camaraderie; something of great importance even today. “It can be quite a lonely journey. But in some ways, it's also just as lonely as you make it to be because you can have good support system with you—that makes all the difference.”

He fondly recalls how his friends supported him during his studies in NUS—and how together, they managed to pull through law school. Many have since joined him at A&G.

THE NEXT LAP

These days, he’s committed to excelling in a different kind of arena: the high-pressure world of M&A. “There are similarities,” he muses. “There are many moving parts in a race much like an M&A deal. These parts require input from different parties, but in the end, everyone has the same goal and objective in mind.”

Timothee also finds great satisfaction in pro bono work. He appreciates how it broadens his perspective by exposing him to a diverse range of cases, and he hopes to leverage this experience to drive change in the sports industry someday. “Maybe through policymaking in leagues,” he envisions.

Timothee and his colleagues at an after-work run

But when the going gets tough, he turns to the one thing he knows brings him comfort: pounding the pavement—but fortunately, without the pressure of running against the fastest man in the world this time around.

 

Connect with Timothee on LinkedIn.​