Calvin Quek wins C Division 400m gold

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

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Friday, April 9, 2010 – Victoria School’s Calvin Quek broke his school’s C Division record en route to winning the boys’ C Division 400 metres final in 53.62 seconds at the 51st National Schools Track and Field Championships.

The time is a personal best, and a hundredth of a second faster than Shawn Chua’s school record set in 2002, but Calvin had a faster time in mind.

“I was aiming for Chin Hui’s record. It’s an inspiration to do better,” said Calvin. The Schools’ C Division record is 51.97, set by Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)’s Ng Chin Hui in 2008.

Calvin claimed two silvers in the 400 metres and 400 metres Hurdles last year, and will aim for a double gold this time round.

“I’m also trying for the record in the 400 metres Hurdles (58.73s). I would try to go through the first 200 metres in 28 seconds, and the final 200 in 30 seconds.” The final is on Monday.

In other 400 metres finals, Chin Hui once again fell short in his bid to go below 50 seconds in the B Division final. His time of 50.46 seconds was nevertheless good enough for first place.

In the A Division final, R. Avinash from Anglo-Chinese Junior College overcame the stiff challenge posed by a fast-improving Seow Yeong Yang to win the gold. Avinash only overtook the Raffles Institution student in the final 50 metres and won in a personal best of 49.50 seconds. Yeong Yang had to settle for silver in 50.22.

In the C Division girls’ final, CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School’s Thia Yi Yi became the first girl in 28 years to repeat as the C Division 400 metres champion, when she defended her title in a time of 61.33 seconds. Noelle Lee from Tanglin Secondary emerged first in the B Division final after a close finish separated the top three by only 0.17 seconds.

Charlene Oh took silver in that race, but her elder sister Charmaine won gold in the next one. The Hwa Chong Institution student clocked a time of 60.98 seconds to win the A Division 400m title, with defending champion Fiona Ng (RI) beaten back into third place. Charmaine’s school mate Goh Chui Ling, in second place, won another silver medal, adding to her High Jump runners-up prize.

400m C Division Boys’ Results
[Record: Ng Chin Hui (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), 2008) – 51.97]

1st Calvin Quek (Victoria School) – 53.62
2nd Chua Kia Loon (Singapore Sports School) – 54.96
3rd Jonathan Wong [Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] – 55.94

400m B Division Boys’ Results
[Record: Jamie Ross Coates (Singapore Sports School, 2008) – 49.75]

1st Ng Chin Hui [Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] – 50.46
2nd Akhigbe Usunobun Uduehi (Northland Secondary School) – 50.86
3rd Dubey Kissan Kumar (Singapore Sports School) – 52.76

400m A Division Boys’ Results
[Record: Hong Fulong Sandy (Woodsville Secondary School, 1984) – 48.8]

1st R. Avinash (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) – 49.50
2nd Seow Yeong Yang (Raffles Institution) – 50.22
3rd Patrick Lim [Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] – 51.47

400m C Division Girls’ Results
[Record: Clara Poon (Cedar Girls’ Secondary School, 2008) – 60.48]

1st Thia Yi Yi (CHIJ St Nicholas’ Girls School) – 61.33
2nd Farhana Bte Mohd Thair (Singapore Sports School) – 62.64
3rd Zheng Yanlei (Cedar Girls’ Secondary School) – 62.68

400m B Division Girls’ Results
[Record: T. Piriyah (Singapore Sports School, 2008) – 57.11]

1st Noelle Lee (Tanglin Secondary School) – 61.20
2nd Charlene Oh (CHIJ Toa Payoh) – 61.25
3rd Ree Tyra Summer (Singapore Sports School) – 61.37

400m A Division Girls’ Results
[Record: Prema Govindan (Ang Mo Kio Secondary School, 1984) – 56.4]

1st Charmaine Oh (Hwa Chong Institution) – 60.98
2nd Goh Chui Ling (Hwa Chong Institution) – 61.38
3rd Fiona Ng (Raffles Institution) – 62.59