ASEAN Schools Track and Field: Pole Vault and Discus deliver gold for Singapore once again

Story by Erwin Wong/Red Sports. Photos by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Saturday, July 2, 2011 — Gold medals were delivered for Singapore once again by the Pole Vault and Discus events at the Third ASEAN Schools Games Track and Field competition.

At the 2010 edition held in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore’s athletics contingent won two golds via Sean Lim and Alan Teh in the Pole Vault and Discus respectively. This year, on the opening day of competition of the annual games, Sean and his Hwa Chong Institution junior Wong Kai Yuen topped their respective fields.

Sean, who improved his own national record by one centimeter to 4.81 metres last Saturday, cleared 4.60m to win the gold medal and improve on his year-old championship record of 4.50m. However, it was far from a smooth competition as Sean faced obstacles both on and off the track.

“My warm up started out fine and everything was okay. But the competition dragged on for really long,” said Sean, who turns 18 on Tuesday. “We started our warm up at about 1 pm and I only started jumping at around 4 plus. It was very tiring to just sit, and I had already cooled down.”

Like every student athlete sitting for a major examination at the end of the year would attest to, studying would, at some point in time, take precedence over most things.

“Right now, I’m in the middle of my block tests, so these examinations have also tired me out a lot. I’ve not been getting enough sleep and I’ve not been training much, only once or twice a week.” said Sean, who will be taking his GCE ‘A’ Level examinations at the end of the year.

There was therefore much worry in the Singapore camp when Sean failed to clear his opening height of 4.30m. His coach, David Yeo, was not too concerned by the fact that his charge missed an opening height, but rather by his run-up towards the obstacle.

“I looked at his run up and knew it was going to be difficult for him. I think the whole week of examinations wore him down too much. Last week was not an examination week so he rested normally, and was in form (to break the national record).

“But today was definitely not the same. As time went by, you could see his performance was dropping. We were changing poles to try to match his slow run-up, and it didn’t work. We were trying to fit in with his runs.”

Sean cleared 4.30m on his second attempt, and again took two tries to cross the 4.40m mark. Meanwhile, Malaysian Mohd Fauzi Bin Lazim cleared 4.20, 4.35 and 4.45m on his first attempts at each height. It was a riveting competition as one vaulter would clear a height and his opponent would pass, only to clear the next one.

Sean passed at 4.45m and cleared 4.50m on his first try to take the lead once again, but Mohd Fauzi skipped that and soared over 4.55m with his first attempt. Sean passed at 4.55m, and with coach David’s exhortations for him to quickly wrap up a long-drawn competition, went over 4.60m on his second attempt and belted out a vociferous cry of relief. The Malaysian vaulter missed at 4.60 and 4.65 to bow out of the competition.

The gold medal was once again in Sean’s possession, but it was indeed a hard-earned one. “I was very much feeling the pressure to win the gold. This was my hardest-fought gold. I’ve never jumped for such a long period of time in a competition before. Normally, I’ll take just a few jumps and I’ll be done already. (Taking 10 vaults) was a lot for me.”

Sean ended his final major competition before his year-end examinations with three attempts at 4.82m, but did not manage to set another national record this time. Despite needing to hit the books till the end of the year, Sean yearned not to fall away from the sport.

“I don’t want to lose touch, so I’ll be competing once in awhile, like in the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) Series meets, or in any small meets that the SAA organizes. I might compete.”

15-year-old Hwa Chong Institution student Chan Sheng Yao, the youngest in the field of eight, cleared a best height of 4.30m to finish fourth, but he was disappointed with his performance.

“I underperformed. I had cleared 4.60m in training but I was perhaps too stressed out today. This is the hardest competition and the highest level I’ve competed at. This is my first time competing in a regional competition, so the pressure was very great. All the other jumpers did very well.”

Sheng Yao, who broke Sean’s National Schools B Division record when he cleared 4.38m in April, will put this performance behind him in his pursuit for greater things.

“My next competition will be the SAA Series 5 meet (on July 16). My target will be to clear 4.50m to qualify for the South East Asian (SEA) Games.”

In the Boys’ Discus (1.5kg), 17-year-old Wong Kai Yuen won the gold medal with a championship-record throw of 50.06 metres. Although that broke Alan Teh’s 2009 record of 49.96m, it was off his personal best of 51.27m which he recorded at the SEA Junior Championships en route to winning one of his two gold medals.

However, the Hwa Chong Institution student, who is bound for the World Youth Championships in Lille, France, in four days’ time, was not too perturbed.

“It wasn’t really good but I was expecting something like this. I’ve been acclimatizing for the World Youths, so physically, I’m tired now. I should be resting. I wasn’t really expecting a record because I was feeling quite tired in the morning, so it came as a bonus.”

Kai Yuen’s pet event is the shot put, where he holds multiple national junior and age-group records. He is the Under-19 (7.26kg, 14.66m), Under-17 (5kg, 17.96m), and Junior (6kg, 16.07m) record holder, and is aiming for better results when he competes in the 5kg shot put here at the ASEAN Schools meet and at the World Youth Championships.

“I’m hoping to go past 18.50m in the shot put (in the ASEAN Schools), and that should put myself in form for the World Youths, which are in four days. I’m aiming for the top 12 there.”

In other field events, multi-sport talent Eleanor Chua equaled a personal best of 1.55m to place sixth in the high jump. The Hwa Chong Institution student also represents her school in volleyball and gymnastics. Vera Yap did not register a clearance.

Victoria Junior College student Jessica Lee was sixth in the Long Jump with a clearance of 4.91m, while Anglo-Chinese Junior College student and national under-17 discus record holder Chan Zhi Xuan was fifth in the shot put with a best throw of 9.93m.

The athletics competition continues tomorrow and ends on Monday.

Results (Field Events)

Boys’ Pole Vault:
1st Sean Lim (Singapore) 4.60 metres (Championship record)
2nd Mohd Fauzi Bin Lazim (Malaysia) 4.55 (Championship record)
3rd Kontawat Thanthiraphap (Thailand) 4.50 (Equal Championship record)
4th Chan Sheng Yao (Singapore) 4.30

Boys’ Discus (1.5kg):
1st Wong Kai Yuen (Singapore) 50.06m (Championship record)
2nd Muhd Irfan Bin Shamsuddin (Malaysia) 46.49
3rd Galih Yoga Widya (Indonesia) 43.21

Girls’ High Jump:
1st Kotchakorn Khamrueangsri (Thailand) 1.69m (Equal Championship record)
2nd Nguyen Thi Quynh (Vietnam) 1.66
3rd Puteri Nur Liyana Binti Megat Abd Hajat (Malaysia) 1.66
6th Eleanor Chua (Singapore) 1.55
Vera Yap (Singapore) No Height

Girls’ Long Jump:
1st Nor Shahidatun Nadia Binti Mohd Zuki (Malaysia) 5.99m (Championship record)
2nd Dang Thi Thu Suong (Vietnam) 5.63
3rd Nguyen Thi Hong Phuing (Vietnam) 5.59
6th Jessica Lee (Singapore) 4.91

Girls’ Shot Put (4kg):
1st Sawitri Thongchao (Thailand) 13.81m (Championship record)
2nd Jenny Arista (Indonesia) 11.24
3rd Bibi Nuraishah Binti Ishak (Malaysia) 10.86
5th Chan Zhi Xuan (Singapore) 9.93

For more photos, go to the next page.