Marcus Ong of Nanyang Poly wins 5000m final to complete POL-ITE double

By REDintern Soh Rui Yong

Gombak Stadium, Saturday, January 30, 2010 – After his 10000m triumph on Wednesday, Marcus Ong of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) held off a late challenge by Singapore Polytechnic's (SP) Muhammad Ilyas Bin Hassan to win the 5000m title at the 2010 POL-ITE Track and Field Championships in a time of 17:09min.

Taking the lead from the gun, Marcus started at a brisk pace to run the finishing speed out of his competitors, particularly Hazwari Bin Abdul Wahid of SP, who is renowned for his fast closing kick.

The first kilometre was passed in a quick 3:19, on track for a 16:35 final time. Marcus' brave strategy seemed to work thus far, with Hazwari quickly losing contact with him. Ilyas meanwhile had started slowly and was positioned further down the field. Running his own race, he gradually improved his position as the race went on, overtaking runners with the passing of each lap.

As Marcus crossed the halfway mark, he held a commanding 40-metre gap on the rest of the field. However, the fast early pace now began to take its toll, and Marcus was visibly jaded, constantly checking over his shoulder to see where his competitors were as he tried to hang on to his lead. Ilyas, who had not been drawn into the fast early pace, now began to make up ground on the tiring leader.

With each lap, Ilyas chipped away at Marcus' lead, and with four laps to go, Ilyas stepped his pace up a notch, quickly swallowing the gap and moving into the lead with a kilometre to go. No sooner had Ilyas moved into the lead however, when Marcus seemed to awaken from his mid-race slumber, changed gears and took the lead back immediately. This time, his move was decisive, and he once again managed to gain a gap over his closest competitor, Ilyas.

As the bell sounded for the final lap, Marcus shifted into top gear and launched his finishing kick. Ilyas, who was still within striking distance, showed no signs of giving up and also stepped up his pace, chasing Marcus all the way round the final lap.

At the finish line, it was Marcus who prevailed, winning the 5000m gold medal to add to the 10000m crown he won on Wednesday. Ilyas crossed the line not far behind in 17:22, second-best on the day, but nevertheless "satisfied with the challenge (he) gave Marcus". Hazwari finished third in 17:50 to attain the bronze medal.

A delighted Marcus later shared, "I will be graduating from my Digital Media course in two weeks, and this being my last race, I was determined to make it a good one to finish things on a high note. I would like to thank the NYP team for their support and encouragement they have provided me with, and special thanks goes to my best friend Gwen, my parents, and most importantly, God."

Asked if he would continue to pursue athletics after graduation, Marcus answered, "Definitely, this double gold achievement is just the beginning of bigger and better things to come."

Marcus also offered congratulations to his good friend and training partner Ilyas, sharing, "Ilyas and I train under the same coach, Mr Guy Orden. The training session we have been through have made us very good friends, and apart from training together, we also often go out for a round of pool or to have dinner together. He is making swift progress and I wish him all the best in his athletics pursuit."

When interviewed about the race, Ilyas, currently in his first year of Mechanical Engineering, revealed that going into the race, he planned to "start conservatively and run smart, and push hard with four laps to go."

"I did not bother about the other runners at the start of the race. All I wanted to do was to run my own race and do my best. I also wanted to reverse the 10000m result when I lost out to Marcus as well. Unfortunately today I was unable to push as hard as I would have liked in the last four laps, but I will work on it and improve," Ilyas shared.

"Up next for me is the 1500m at the 2nd Allcomers' meet held on the 6th and 7th Feb, which is a speed-work session for me. I will then compete in the 5000m at the 3rd Allcomers held on the 27th and 28th of Feb, where I hope to improve on my 5000m timing."

No man is an island, and as any long distance athlete will tell you, and good training partners are essential if one is to excel. The partnership of Marcus and Ilyas certainly seems to be bearing fruit for the both of them, and surely an exciting future awaits the two young runners!

Video of POL-ITE Men’s 5000m final

Results (courtesy of reader Sam Lim)
Event 118 Men 5000 Meter Run
Name Team Finals

Section 1
1 2886 Ong, Marcus Nanyang Polytechnic 17:09.29
2 2990 Hassan, Muhammad Ilyas Singapore Polytechnic 17:22.45
3 2984 Abdul Wahid, Hazwari Singapore Polytechnic 17:50.88
4 2969 Alvin Lim Guo Hua Republic Polytechnic 18:19.58
5 3042 Lim, Wei Qiang Temasek Polytechnic 18:57.59
6 3052 Tan, Milton Temasek Polytechnic 19:46.14
7 2874 Foo, Giebert Nanyang Polytechnic 20:20.37
8 2935 Rodrigues, Joshua Ngee Ann Polytechnic 20:31.47
9 3035 Danker, Leslie Temasek Polytechnic 20:53.36
10 2957 Chua, Yew Aik Republic Polytechnic 21:47.61
11 2836 Chua, Zai Xing Institute of Tech Education 21:53.86
12 2968 Teo, Lincoln Republic Polytechnic 22:00.98
13 3011 Thomas, Edwin Mario Singapore Polytechnic 22:09.20
— 2923 Kwa, George Ngee Ann Polytechnic DNF
— 2837 Fayiz, Haja Institute of Tech Education DNF
— 2941 Tanabal, Sathieswaran Ngee Ann Polytechnic DNF