By Romaine Soh/Red Sports
Chang An Zi of Geylang Methodist won the contest with a 3.13m clearance. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Monday, April 8, 2013 — Chang An Zi of Geylang Methodist School (Secondary) struck gold in the Open Division pole vault at the 54th National Schools Track and Field Championships. She topped off her win with a new personal best of 3.13 meters.
Cara Wong of Raffles Institution was the runner-up, clearing a height of 3.03m. Carmel Teo of Jurong Junior College rounded off the podium with a 2.83m attempt.
The pole vault event is classified under the Open Division, which means that A, B and C Division girls competed against each other despite their age differences because relatively few girls in Singapore participate in the pole vault.
Pitted against older compatriots, including defending champion Carmel Teo, An Zi sailed past the field of competitors and gunned for the national schools record with an attempt of 3.33m after the gold medal was in the bag. However, no new record was to be set as An Zi did not manage to clear the height after three attempts. Each athlete is given three attempts at each height.
“I am definitely more technically sound compared to last year, but I still have many areas to improve on,” An Zi reflected.
“It was great to have victory on my side, and also unexpected, given that the 100m semi-finals was happening at the same time as the pole vault! I’m just really thankful for all the support that I have.”
Pole Vault Girls Results
1st Chang An Zi (Geylang Methodist, #274) — 3.13m
2nd Wong Xin Ern Cara (RI, #103) — 3.03m
3rd Teo Carmel (Jurong JC, #207) — 2.83m
4th Kimberly Pang Li Ting (RI, #88) — 2.83m
5th Tan Ying Lin, Felicia (Cedar Girls’, #159) — 2.68m
6th Goh Wei Ling Diana (VJC, #129) — 2.53m
7th Sew Pei Xuan (Cedar Girls’, #157) — 2.33m
8th Joy Low Su-Ann (NUS High, #304) — 2.13m
9th Lee Jiaqi Amanda (RI, #90) — 1.88m
Sarah Ng Shu Qi (Cedar Girls’, #156) — DNQ
Video © SAA. Used with permission.
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