SINGAPORE – In elite sports, the stakes are brutally high and the pressure is relentless. Every move, every split-second decision, can spell the difference between glory and heartbreak.

But when Swiss luxury watchmaker Richard Mille brought five of its athlete ambassadors together for a recent fireside chat in Singapore, the conversation was not about their victories but the struggles that defined them.

At St Martin – Richard Mille’s flagship boutique near the Botanic Gardens – Brazilian racing driver Felipe Massa, South African sprinter Wayde van Niekerk, American fencer Miles Chamley-Watson, Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim and British cyclist Mark Cavendish told raw, personal stories of how they overcame life’s toughest challenges.

Hosted by the watch brand’s commercial director Alexandre Mille and marketing director Tim Malachard, the event revealed how the athletes turned setbacks into triumphs.

For Cavendish, one of cycling’s greatest sprinters, the stigma surrounding mental health once felt insurmountable.

Diagnosed with clinical depression in 2018, the 35-time Tour de France stage winner opened up about his struggles. “Ten years ago, admitting you had mental health issues felt like making excuses,” said the 39-year-old.

But talking about his challenges helped him heal and gave him a new purpose. “When you share your story, you never know whose life you might change.”

Sprinter van Niekerk, who shattered American athlete Michael Johnson’s long-standing 400m world record at the 2016 Olympics, agreed.

The 32-year-old’s world turned upside down in late 2017 when a freak injury during a charity tag rugby match brought his sprinting career to an abrupt halt.

He tore his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right leg – a devastating blow for the record-breaking athlete.

It was not just his career at stake, but also his identity on the line. However, it did not stop him from making a comeback.

“You learn a lot through adversity. You got to understand it, take it head on and realise that you’re doing the best job that you can. Talking helps me get through whatever I am going through,” he said, adding that rebuilding from scratch taught him patience and to celebrate small wins.

The pain of starting over is something Barshim, 33, knows only too well.

In 2018, while attempting to break Cuban h...