A Div 800m: Zachary Devaraj of ACS(I) defends title with a 1:58.69

Zachary Devaraj of ACS(I) heading down the final stretch with Freeman Aw of HCI giving chase. Zachary finished 1st in 1:58.69min. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Wednesday, April 4, 2012 — Zachary Devaraj of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) came home first in a time of 1 minute 58.69 seconds to win the A Division 800m final. He was the only athlete to go under two minutes in the race.

Zachary had set the Championship record of 1:57.10 in 2011. He is also the current National Youth record holder with a time of 1:54.14 set last year.

Freeman Aw of Hwa Chong Institution was second in a personal best of 2:00.79min while Justin Surin was third in 2:03.11. Freeman clocked 2:03.28 in the 2011 A Division race to finish fourth.

It was a much closer 800m race this year than last. In 2011, Zachary won the race by at least 60m but this year, Freeman kept pace with Zachary. Zachary managed to pull away slightly in the final stretch to finish just over two seconds ahead.

ACS(I) and HCI both had three runners each who finished in the top eight.

Results
1st Zachary Devaraj (Anglo-Chinese School (I)) — 1:58.69
2nd Aw Xin Sheng Freeman (Hwa Chong Institution) — 2:00.79
3rd Justin John Surin (Raffles Institution) — 2:03.11
4th Chua Bo Yu (Hwa Chong Institution) — 2:04.30
5th Sean Lim Yi Fang (Anglo-Chinese School (I)) — 2:04.79
6th Jasper Tan Wei Heng (Catholic Junior College) — 2:05.23
7th Gregory Teo Yi Rong (Anglo-Chinese School (I)) — 2:05.36
8th Lim Jia Le (Hwa Chong Institution) — 2:05.60
9th Leng Kenn Siang (Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 2:05.90
10th Loh Zhen Yao Gavin (National Junior College) — 2:06.03
11th Yeo Jun Kang Sherwin (Victoria Junior College) — 2:07.18
12th Ng Teck Boon Gavin (Victoria Junior College) — 2:07.63
13th Ang Jun Hao (Raffles Institution) — 2:09.59
14th Justin Gang-Xi Ong (SAJC) — 2:09.89
15th Chew Liang Yuh (TJC) — 2:11.14
16th Asher Tham Chi Weng (ACJC) — 2:14.42