Full Name: Josiah Ng Onn Lam
Chinese Name: 伍安臨
Simplified Chinese Name: 伍安临
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
2010 – 1st Malaysian Commonwealth Gold Medalist in Track Cycling
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
One of Malaysia’s current top national 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 London Olympics 2012.”
If not a cyclist, Josiah would most probably be a businessman of some sort, probably in sales and marketing. But in a dream world, he would be an F1 driver!
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. His worst ‘’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 a few years before that was when he broke his wrist 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.”
Other things you might want to know about Josiah:
JOSIAH’S TRIBUTE TO ALL
Thanks to my coach, team-mates, family members, friends and supporters for the motivation given throughout my cycling career.
I would also like to extend my sincerest appreciation and gratitude to all my sponsors who have supported me all the way.
Crunch!
