Stories and pictures by Les Tan

Thia Yi Yi (in red) on her way to the finishing line in the 200m race. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Bishan Stadium, Wednesday, July 9, 2008 – Thia Yi Yi of Rosyth broke the record in the 200m and 400m five times throughout the 49th National Inter-Primary Track and Field Championships. In so doing, she was awarded the Joe David Trophy, given to the athlete with the most outstanding individual performance.

Running in the B-Girls 200m heats, Yi Yi ran 27.50 seconds. The Primary 6 student athlete then broke her record with a time of 27.28s in the 200m semi-finals. On the day of the final, she lowered the time further by 0.03s to 27.25s.

A similar pattern occurred in the 400m. The 11-year-old Yi Yi set a new record in the heats with a 1m 3.76s run then broke it in the final with a time of 1m 2.48s to win gold.

When asked whether she had hopes of doing this well, a modest Yi Yi said: “Not really. I did not expect to break records.” Her teammate and captain, Rebecca Tan chimed in quickly, “Yes, I did!” and the rest of her track and field team who were surrounding her excitedly nodded in agreement.

Yi Yi spent six months training for her events and her school, Rosyth Primary, also came in second overall in the B-Girls Division.

Yi Yi (red) reduced the gap against Magdalene Ho (right) of CHIJ Katong (Primary) in the final leg but just failed to win gold for her team in the 4x100m relay for B-Girls. The CHIJ Katong (Primary) quartet won in a new record time of 53.91s while Yi Yi and her teammates finished second in 54.11s. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Holding her Joe David Trophy proudly, Thia Yi Yi poses with her teammates. To her left is her captain and teammate Rebecca Tan. (Photo 3 © Les Tan/Red Sports)