KUCHING: It takes a blink of an eye to make Olympic Winter Games history or to miss it, but sometimes history is only delayed, not denied.
The Games is drawing to a close – the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, ran from February 6 to 22.
Sarawakian skeleton athlete, Jonathan Yaw, fell just 0.06 seconds short of qualifying, a heartbreaking near-miss after years of sacrifice and global competition.
A fraction faster, and Yaw would have become the first Southeast Asian to compete in an Olympic sliding sport event.
This season, he raced 11 times across four tracks – Whistler (Canada), Park City (USA), Lake Placid (USA) and Pyeongchang (South Korea) with Olympic qualification based on each athlete’s best seven results.
Yaw secured two podium finishes among them, competing consistently at World Cup level.
Despite his results, Malaysia finished 17th in the standings, just outside the top 15 cut-off.
A reallocated quota spot including one declined by Canada went to Japan, leaving Malaysia one place short of history.
“To put it into perspective on how close I was to qualifying for Olympics, if I had been 0.06 seconds faster in just one race, I would have created history for Malaysia.
“We don’t even blink that fast. It hurts to know how close I was to doing something special for everyone back home, but that is the nature of our sport,” he told Sarawak Tribune when contacted recently.
The Miri-born athlete, who discovered skeleton in 2019, has trained five to six days a week for seven years, spending five to six months annually abroad in countries with sliding facilities.
Despite falling short, he expressed deep gratitude to those who have supported him along the way.
“I’m extremely thankful to God, who has blessed me with so many amazing people who have been part of my journey. I’m so proud to say that I will never be a ‘one-man team’ because of all the kindness and support that I have been shown over the years.
“I also want to say a special thank you to my family, coaches and friends who lift me up every single day and allow me to be myself around them. I love you all,” he said.
Moving forward, Yaw remains determined but cautious about his future in the sport.
“For now, I feel a little lost. Four years is a long commitment, and the financial burden is extremely high. I would love to try again for the next Olympics, but I need support,” he said.
“The government currently does not provide financial aid, so Malaysians’ belief in and investment in me will be key to keeping this fire burning so that I can get the ‘Jalur Gemilang’ to a place it has never been before.”
Yaw’s near miss serves as both a testament to his dedication and a spotlight on the potential of Malaysian athletes in winter sports – a frontier largely unexplored in Southeast Asia.
