When she was growing up, Grace Young (now Grace Young-Diao) was keenly interested in sports. She was often out with her siblings and friends, who lived in the same HDB estate, playing all forms of ball games. Grace was always willing to have a go at a new sport. In school, she took part in track and field, badminton, swimming, tennis, ice skating, softball amongst other sports.

Bowling was an expensive sport and she only picked it up by chance when she was 21, on an evening out with friends. She noticed a group of youths being coached by national bowling coach, Victor Tham. Being a sports enthusiast, she watched them, practised what she observed, and found an opportunity to ask Victor for some tips.

Victor was impressed by her interest, her attention to detail, and her ability to adapt. He invited her to join the youth team at their training sessions and, six months later, she lifted the trophy at the Graded National Championships. This early success set Grace on a path that led to her becoming a seven-time SEA Games gold medallist and three-time Sportswoman of the Year.

In 1989, Victor passed away. Devastated, Grace decided she needed a holistic strategy if she were to continue bowling competitively without the guidance of her mentor and friend. She read all she could about sports psychology and studied the training regimes of the world’s top athletes.

She went on to compete in multiple national and international tournaments. She proudly donned Singapore colours at SEA Games, Asian Games, and World Championships, bagging medals of all shades. At the 1991 Manila SEA Games she won 2 gold medals beating the two top Filipina athletes on their home soil. Grace was named Sportswoman of the Year for 1989, 1991, and 1992.

In 1993, when Singapore hosted the SEA Games, Grace was the torchbearer at the opening ceremony, and she clinched gold medals in the doubles as well as team events. At the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, Grace won a very hard-fought bronze medal. Injuries then began to plague her, but in 1996 she managed to win her third National title.

Grace was at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to demonstrate ten pin bowling. While in Atlanta, she also multitasked as a reporter and presenter for the Television Corporation of Singapore (now MediaCorp). But later that year the tendonitis in her fingers became severe and she knew her competitive years as a bowler would soon come to a close.

After her retirement from competitive bowling, Gace served on the governing councils of the Singapore Sports School and the Bowling Federation. In 2009, Grace joined the ‘Tour of Hope’, a group of community-spirited friends who cycled through various parts of Thailand annually and raised funds to support the underserved in remote Thai villages. Each trip lasted at least a week and covered distances of between 750km and 900km. The group collaborated with Johns Hopkins Hospital Thailand to provide free pap smear tests for the hill tribe women. They also funded new libraries and community spaces for underprivileged children.

In 2016, Grace and a few friends decided to form a separate cycling group called ‘Cyclists with Compassion’, with a maximum of 25 cyclists. For each tour, they identify the beneficiaries, and with the help of local guides, map a route taking them to the location. She and her fellow cyclists have provided seed money to orphanages to become self-sufficient in farming. Bicycles were donated for the children to cycle to and from school. In 2022, they partnered Tamar Centre in Pattaya to fund re-skilling programmes for women and girls, to encourage a healthier and more sustainable living.

Grace is an active board member of Ambulance Wish Singapore (AWS). She heads the fundraising committee to support the work of this charitable organisation that ‘Celebrates Lives and Fulfils Wishes’ of the terminally ill in Singapore. AWS’ key signature fund-raising event is called ‘Cycle of Peace’, which aims to engage all segments of Singapore society to increase awareness for its cause.

When she was growing up, Grace Young (now Grace Young-Diao) was keenly interested in sports. She was often out with her siblings and friends, who lived in the same HDB estate, playing all forms of ball games. Grace was always willing to have a go at a new sport. In school, she took part in track and field, badminton, swimming, tennis, ice skating, softball amongst other sports.

Bowling was an expensive sport and she only picked it up by chance when she was 21, on an evening out with friends. She noticed a group of youths being coached by national bowling coach, Victor Tham. Being a sports enthusiast, she watched them, practised what she observed, and found an opportunity to ask Victor for some tips.

Victor was impressed by her interest, her attention to detail, and her ability to adapt. He invited her to join the youth team at their training sessions and, six months later, she lifted the trophy at the Graded National Championships. This early success set Grace on a path that led to her becoming a seven-time SEA Games gold medallist and three-time Sportswoman of the Year.

In 1989, Victor passed away. Devastated, Grace decided she needed a holistic strategy if she were to continue bowling competitively without the guidance of her mentor and friend. She read all she could about sports psychology and studied the training regimes of the world’s top athletes.

She went on to compete in multiple national and international tournaments. She proudly donned Singapore colours at SEA Games, Asian Games, and World Championships, bagging medals of all shades. At the 1991 Manila SEA Games she won 2 gold medals beating the two top Filipina athletes on their home soil. Grace was named Sportswoman of the Year for 1989, 1991, and 1992.

In 1993, when Singapore hosted the SEA Games, Grace was the torchbearer at the opening ceremony, and she clinched gold medals in the doubles as well as team events. At the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, Grace won a very hard-fought bronze medal. Injuries then began to plague her, but in 1996 she managed to win her third National title.

Grace was at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to demonstrate ten pin bowling. While in Atlanta, she also multitasked as a reporter and presenter for the Television Corporation of Singapore (now MediaCorp). But later that year the tendonitis in her fingers became severe and she knew her competitive years as a bowler would soon come to a close.

After her retirement from competitive bowling, Gace served on the governing councils of the Singapore Sports School and the Bowling Federation. In 2009, Grace joined the ‘Tour of Hope’, a group of community-spirited friends who cycled through various parts of Thailand annually and raised funds to support the underserved in remote Thai villages. Each trip lasted at least a week and covered distances of between 750km and 900km. The group collaborated with Johns Hopkins Hospital Thailand to provide free pap smear tests for the hill tribe women. They also funded new libraries and community spaces for underprivileged children.

In 2016, Grace and a few friends decided to form a separate cycling group called ‘Cyclists with Compassion’, with a maximum of 25 cyclists. For each tour, they identify the beneficiaries, and with the help of local guides, map a route taking them to the location. She and her fellow cyclists have provided seed money to orphanages to become self-sufficient in farming. Bicycles were donated for the children to cycle to and from school. In 2022, they partnered Tamar Centre in Pattaya to fund re-skilling programmes for women and girls, to encourage a healthier and more sustainable living.

Grace is an active board member of Ambulance Wish Singapore (AWS). She heads the fundraising committee to support the work of this charitable organisation that ‘Celebrates Lives and Fulfils Wishes’ of the terminally ill in Singapore. AWS’ key signature fund-raising event is called ‘Cycle of Peace’, which aims to engage all segments of Singapore society to increase awareness for its cause.