B Div 400m Hurdles: Jack Tan of HCI goes below a minute to earn gold in 59.56s

By Tay Jun Wen/Red Sports

Jack Tan (#523) of HCI on his way to winning the B Div 400m hurdles final in 59.56s. Ow Yeong Wei Bin (not in picture) was second while Muhd Adnan Hakim (#106) of Singapore Sports School recovered from his fall to finish third in 1:02.12. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Sports Complex, Monday, April 15, 2013 — Jack Tan of Hwa Chong Institution won the B Division 400 metres hurdles gold in a time of 59.56 seconds at the 54th National Schools Track and Field Championships. His teammate, Ow Yeong Wei Bin, was second in 1:00.78.

Muhd Adnan Hakim of Singapore Sports School, who fell just before the finish line, earned the bronze, finishing his run in 1:02.12.

The B Division 400m hurdles record of 55.04s was set by Raymond Lee, then of St. Joseph’s Institution, in 2012.

With 100m to go, Adnan was in the lead, with Jack just behind him. However, after the final hurdle, Adnan stumbled and went down, opening up a chance for Wei Bin to bag the silver.

Quickly getting up, Adnan pushed himself past the finish line, edging past the line just before Kim Han Sang of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). Han Sang finished fourth, 0.05s behind Adnan in 1:02.17.

Owing to a hamstring injury sustained just last Saturday, Jack was not expecting much out of the race. However, he and Wei Bin both had faith in themselves. “The fear of suffering will always be worse than the suffering itself,” said Jack, with regard to his injury.

Having done hurdles mostly in Lane 5, Jack reflected that he had to train on different lanes to gain expertise. He also added that he needed to learn how to manage pressure.

“It was my last race in the B Division, and I just wanted to do it well,” said Jack.

Jack paid homage to his supporters for his win. The Hwa Chong Institution boy said: “I would like to thank my coach Han Zhong Jian, the school and the competitors for pushing me. I could not have done it without them!”

Wei Bin was also not expecting much because of the strong competition. “The runner from Singapore Sports School (Adnan) proved to be a challenge for me,” Wei Bin noted. He admitted that he could work more on his hurdling techniques.

Both of them clocked new personal bests.

Despite his fall, Adnan felt that he started off well in the race. In trying to beat Jack, he lost his concentration, falling at the end. “My coach told me that I need to gain more muscles because I’m quite skinny. Hopefully I’ll be able to bulk up by next year,” said Adnan.

The Singapore Sports School boy added that his opponents possessed sportsmanship. “Before the race, we wished each other good luck, and this was really an enjoyable race,” Adnan commented.

Adnan hopes to qualify for the Asian Youth Games.

B Division Boys 400m Hurdles Results
1st Jack Tan Jie En (Hwa Chong Institution, #523) — 00:59.56
2nd Ow Yeong Wei Bin (Hwa Chong Institution, #541) — 01:00.78
3rd Muhd Adnan Hakim (Singapore Sports School, #106) — 01:02.12
4th Kim Han Sang (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), #140) — 01:02.17
5th Isaac Ming U Yang (Catholic High School, #172) — 01:02.61
6th Hedry Q Amani Bin Rizal Numeiry (Singapore Sports School, #99) — 01:03.26
7th Jonathan Lew Lian Xin (Raffles Institution, #273) — 01:03.75
8th Maverick Lim Teck Wei (Victoria School, #475) — 01:04.60