Sean Toh betters YOG benchmark in Boys’ B Division 110 metres hurdles

Story by Erwin Wong/Red Sports. Photos by Marvin Lowe/Red Sports

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Friday, April 9, 2010 - Victoria School's Sean Toh became the first athlete to better the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) benchmark set by the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) when he won the Boys' B Division 110 metres Hurdles in 13.98 seconds at the 51st National Schools Track And Field Championships.

The benchmark was an integral part of the selection criteria for the YOG, and was put in place with the objective of having at least one or two athletes in the top ten placing in the Games. It was collated from the average of the 10th-placed performances of the previous three World Youth Championships.

The target was 13.99, but Sean strived for a quicker time.

"I was aiming for a 13.77. That was my specific target. But since the race is over, I have no regrets," said Sean, who is coached by Yu Long Nyu, the women's national Long Jump and Heptathlon record holder.

A false start from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)'s Teh Jing Long made things more difficult for Sean, as whoever committed a second infringement would be automatically disqualified.

"I was already mentally ready for the race, but after the false start, I felt a little nervous. If I ever made a mistake, then that would be it. But when the gun went off, I managed to get a good start. I'm very happy with my result and I'm very satisfied."

He may have beat the YOG benchmark by a hair's breadth, but according to SAA's selection criteria, this performance at the Schools' Track and Field meet had no bearing on his YOG status.

Sean had already clocked 14.62 and 14.53 at the All-Comers Meet and National Junior Championships respectively to earn a nomination to the Asian Area Qualification for the YOG, which will be held next month. Eight boys and girls each were nominated in various other disciplines.

The average of his performance from the National Junior Meet (14.53s) and the Asian Area Qualification would then be leveraged against the YOG benchmark (13.99s), as will that of the 15 other nominated athletes. From there, five boys and five girls will then be put up for final consideration for the Games.

All things considered, it still augurs well for Sean, who picked up his third consecutive sprint hurdles gold medal at the Schools Championships.

His 13.98s performance would go into the record books as a new mark as well, as the B Division race had previously been competed over 100 metres. It was just as well, as Sean's existing mark in the C Division was erased one race earlier.

Linus Chong from Singapore Sports School clocked a 13.81 to beat Sean's 2008 record of 13.93. They are the only two C Division hurdlers ever who have gone below 14 seconds in this event.

Sean and Linus already have four individual gold medals between them, but the final race of the morning session gave Raffles Institution's Ng Jun Rui an opportunity at his first.

The 18 year old had consistently finished in the top eight of the Long Jump and sprint hurdles events throughout the years, but only collected his first individual medal in last year's 110m hurdles final when he finished second.

This time in the same event, Jun Rui's quick start helped him on his way to his maiden gold medal, edging out Hwa Chong's Joel Chia by 0.16 seconds to win in 15.41s.

"My strong point is my start, so I decided to get a good start and try to maintain my lead, because I usually slow down towards the end. The same thing happened today, when I hit the last three hurdles," said Jun Rui, as he talked through the race proceedings.

As it turned out, it was the closest 1-2 finish in this event since 1995.

"I was not sure how far ahead I was, but Joel caught up quite a bit, from what I heard. So luckily my lead was enough, to compensate for hitting the last three hurdles."

This marked the final time Jun Rui would ever pound the tartan track and glide over the 99.1 centimetre high hurdles as a school athlete, and it spurred him on to his best.

"(This first individual gold) is quite satisfying, because I put in quite a lot of hard work for this, and it paid off. It is the last school race for me as well, so it was added motivation. I told myself to run a good race and leave no regrets, so I think I managed to do it."

100m Hurdles C Division Boys’ Results
[Record: Sean Toh (Victoria School, 2008) – 13.93]

1st Linus Chong (Singapore Sports School) – 13.81 (New Record)
2nd Ang Ding Hui (Raffles Institution) – 14.14
3rd Wong Yi Kuan (Hwa Chong Institution) – 15.04

110m Hurdles B Division Boys’ Results
[Record: Sean Toh (Victoria School, 2010) – 14.24]

1st Sean Toh (Victoria School) – 13.98 (New Record)
2nd Ang Chen Xiang (Raffles Institution) – 14.60
3rd Samuel Tay (Hwa Chong Institution) – 14.96

110m Hurdles A Division Boys' Results
[Record: Abdul Hakeem Bin Abdul Halim (Raffles Junior College, 2005) – 14.46]

1st Ng Jun Rui (Raffles Institution) - 15.41
2nd Joel Chia (Hwa Chong Institution) - 15.57
3rd Tommy Kee (Hwa Chong Institution) - 15.95

For more results and photos, go to the next page.