SINGAPORE — Nine years ago, national swimmer Danny Yeo saw his world come crashing down when doctors diagnosed his father, Felix Yeo, with late-stage duodenal cancer.

Barely two months after the diagnosis, the elder Yeo passed away at the age of 55 after losing his fight with the disease.

His death left an indelible mark on Yeo — then only 16 — and he decided to take training seriously and work hard to make the national swim team to honour his late father, who was an avid swimmer himself.

“My father’s death was quite a shock to me at that point of time because it was so sudden,” Yeo told TODAY. “But after he passed away, I began to appreciate how fragile life is and it taught me to appreciate the people around me ... more.

“It also made me realise that I needed to do something more with my life, and becoming a national swimmer was the best way to remember my father. All this has helped shape me to become the swimmer that I am today.”

Yeo has notched an impressive list of achievements in his swimming career since then.

At the recent SEA Games held here, the Singapore Management University undergraduate won two gold medals with the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relay teams — in national record times — to take his total SEA Games haul to eight gold.

He also holds the national record for the 400m freestyle time (3:55.14), and had previously held the national 100m freestyle mark before it was broken by Joseph Schooling at the June Games.

Despite his success in the pool, Yeo has not forgotten the pain of having lost a loved one to cancer.

It is why the bespectacled, softly spoken 25-year-old has decided to swap his swimming trunks and goggles for a pair of jogging shoes come Jan 31 next year, as he takes on the 23rd edition of Run for Hope at The Promontory@Marina Bay.

The annual charity run is expected to attract some 12,000 runners who will participate across two race categories: 10km and 3.5km. Aimed at raising awareness and support for cancer research, the event also serves as a lead-up to World Cancer Day on Feb 4.

Yeo did not hesitate when approached by event organisers to take on the role of ambassador for Run for Hope.

He will be running the 3.5km route alongside his fellow ambassadors: National sprinters Shanti Pereira, Dipna Lim-Prasad, Calvin Kang, Muhammad Amirudin Jamal, and high-jumper Michelle Sng.

“It’s a very worthy cause to show my support for, and one that’s close to my heart because of my father,” said Yeo. “In particular, I hope to raise more awareness to let people know that we can do something about cancer if we detect it early.

“My family and I felt really helpless by the time we found out about my father’s cancer because it was too late for us to do anything. So I want to encourage people to go for regular medical checkups, instead of leaving it to chance.”

While Yeo admits that he may feel like a fish out of water on the road, he is counting on his training in the pool to help him tackle the 3.5km run. The swimmer, who will feature in next month’s FINA Swimming World Cup, is also looking forward to spending some time with his Team Singapore colleagues from track and field, as he added: “We don’t have a lot of activities that bring athletes from different sports together, so it’s pretty meaningful.

“Maybe I’ll be able to finish ahead of them … or at least catch them by surprise in the first 100m!”

FURTHER DETAILS

For more information about the run, visit www.runforhope.sg