By REDintern Soh Rui Yong. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports
Eugene Cyril Rodrigo from VJC leading. (Photo 1 © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Tuesday, April 18, 2011 — Defending A Division steeplechase champion Eugene Cyril Rodrigo of Victoria Junior College (VJC) retained his title in style, grabbing the lead early in the race and pushing hard all the way to the end. His finishing time of 10 minutes 10.34 seconds was a massive improvement on his 2010 winning time (10:32.37), and also put him almost 12 seconds clear of silver medalist Benjamin Amaldas Samynathan of Raffles Institution (RI), who clocked 10:22.10.
The pressure on Eugene to defend his crown was evident, as the Victorian wore an expression of sheer focus on his face throughout his warm-up routine, and as the steeplechase athletes made their way to the start line. The defending champion made his intentions clear right from the gun, surging into the front pack, and keeping close contact with race leader Yeo Si Heng of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), the silver medalist in the event from 2010.
Last year, Si Heng had started slowly and worked his way through the field before unleashing a swift final lap, but Eugene already had the race in the bag by then. Si Heng, the Hwa Chong cross-country captain, was evidently trying a new tactic this time round, running aggressively from the front and setting a brisk pace early on.
Meanwhile, Benjamin and Wilbert Ho, both of Raffles Institution, had opted for a more conservative approach, settling further down in the field of 17 athletes, and moving their way up slowly but steadily. Benjamin had finished almost 40 seconds faster than Eugene in the 5000m final (16:15.43 to 16:55.12), and was always going to be a threat with his strong endurance. The Rafflesian was, however, competing in his first ever steeplechase race, and was visibly uncomfortable negotiating his way past the barriers.
Eugene drew level with Si Heng after three laps of the race, and there he stayed, biding his time, before moving decisively into the lead a lap later. Benjamin and Wilbert had caught up to the leaders by now, and as the four athletes began to establish a gap over the rest of the competitors, it was evident that the medals would be decided between them.
With his vocal Victorian supporters roaring him on, Eugene continued to pour on the pace, making it more and more difficult for the other athletes to stay with him. As the athletes crossed the finish line with two laps to go, Eugene was finally rewarded for his gutsy performance as he began to run away from his exhausted pursuers, with Benjamin the only athlete able to go with him.
Eugene’s experience in the event, having competed in the steeplechase every year since 2009, then came into play, as his superior steeplechasing technique saw him steal a yard over Benjamin after every barrier. As the Victorian entered the final lap with a 25m advantage over his closest rival, it was evident that the gold medal was his to lose. Eugene gave his opponents no chance, blitzing through the final lap and widening his advantage even more, eventually crossing the line more than 50m clear of the rest of the field.
Further behind, Si Heng displayed excellent fighting spirit in clawing his way back to Benjamin, and the pair crossed the final barrier simultaneously before making a mad dash for the line, which Benjamin won narrowly. Wilbert finished soon after in fourth place, but his finishing time of 10:29.73 bettered Eugene’s 2010 winning time, and was a massive personal best time as well.
A jubilant Eugene later said: “I was really determined to defend my steeplechase title, and gave it my all during the race. It was always going to be tough as I had many strong opponents, and I knew I had to take my chances and push the pace hard.”
“Setting the pace and running in front was very difficult and tiring, but thankfully the cheering of my supporters lifted my spirits, enabling me to keep going.”
Eugene’s winning time was in fact the fourth-fastest time recorded electronically at the National Schools Championships, with only Narayan Paudel of VJC (9:57.25 set in year 2000), Ng Junwei of National Junior College (10:04.40 in 2000) and Soh Rui Yong of Raffles Institution (10:09.84 in 2009) having run faster.
Benjamin, meanwhile, was philosophical in defeat.
“I lost out because of my steeplechasing technique in the race as I only had one week of steeplechase training prior to the event. In fact, my plan was to step on the barriers during the race, but I missed my footing midway through the race and ended up hurdling over a barrier accidentally!” said Benjamin.
“Realising that hurdling came pretty naturally for me and was not too bad an idea, I proceeded to hurdle over the barriers for the rest of the race. I have no regrets as I did my best, and it was a fun experience overall! Kudos to Eugene, he ran brilliantly and he is has a great personality as well. I really respect him as a competitor, and he truly deserves his gold medal,” added Benjamin.
A-Boys 3000 Metres Steeplechase Results
Pos Competitor Tag Sch Results Pts Status
1 Eugene Cyril Rodrigo (211 VJC) — 10:10.34 9
2 Benjamin Amaldas Samynathan (129 RI) — 10:22.10 7
3 Yeo Si Heng (302 HCI) — 10:23.65 6
4 Ho Hsien Hao Wilbert (142 RI) — 10:29.73 5
5 Zorndrix Dass (268 ACJC) — 10:39.38 4
6 Teng Jian Hong (298 HCI) — 10:53.01 3
7 Hui Jia Sheng Jared (83 CJC) — 10:53.03 2
8 James Iau Nan Hoong (242 ACJC) — 11:10.14 1
9 Terence Chao Guan Xiong (261 ACJC) — 11:23.21
10 Chew Hong En (136 RI) — 11:39.71
11 Mun Yong Liang (285 HCI) — 11:40.28
12 Meiyappan Karthik S/O M (119 NJC) — 11:55.09
13 Vikram Tiakarajah (228 VJC) — 12:06.26
14 Wu Zheng Feng (230 VJC) — 12:21.39
15 Lee Ming Ren Terence (22 IJC) — 13:05.44
16 Benjamin Voon Peng Sheng (42 YJC) — 13:55.75
17 Lam Chun Hong (47 YJC) — 14:43.09
Tan Qing Yu Ivan (71 ACS(I)) — DNQ
Top 5 electronic timings recorded for ‘A’ Boys 3000m steeplechase
09:57.25 – Narayan Paudel (VJC) in 2000
10:04.40 – Ng Junwei (NJC) in 2000
10:09.84 – Soh Rui Yong (RI) in 2009
10:10.34 – Eugene Rodrigo (VJC) in 2011
10:12.69 – Lee Ming Hui (VJC) in 2008
Video shown with permission of SAA and SSSC
For more photos, go to the next page.
he is singaporean
what is Eugene’s nationality ?
think Singaporean