By Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports
Ow Yeong Wei Bin of HCI sprints after clearing the final hurdle. Wei Bin clinched the boys’ B Division 400m hurdles gold medal in 55.49 seconds. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Thursday, April 10, 2014 — Ow Yeong Wei Bin of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) clinched the boys’ B Division 400 metres hurdles gold medal with a timing of 55.49 seconds at the 55th National Inter-School Track & Field Championships.
The HCI student commented, “It is quite heartening and I am quite excited about it. I had a strong drive to win it because this is my final year in school.”
Jay Choo of Singapore Sports School finished second just 0.29 seconds behind Wei Bin at 55.78s. “I am a little disappointed. I predicted the wrong foot at the second last hurdle, which made a difference. I want to thank my coaches, juniors, and my senior, Muhd Adnan Hakim. Hakim taught me how to run better and pushed me forward.”
Both Wei Bin and Jay made considerable improvements in their personal bests. Wei Bin bettered his PB by 1.01s, while the latter shaved over two seconds off his 58.14s performance at the Junior championships last month.
Jay’s teammate Muhammad Nur Haqim finished third in 58.77 seconds. An unprecedented seven runners went below 60 seconds, and six of the eight finalists clocked personal bests.
The B Division 400m hurdles record is 55.04s and was set by Raymond Scott Lee, then of St. Joseph’s Institution, in 2012.
Wei Bin and Jay’s runs were only the third and fourth times the 56-second barrier have been breached at these championships.
B Div 400m Hurdles (Boys) Results
1st Ow Yeong Wei Bin (#548, Hwa Chong Institution) – 55.49s
2nd Choo Zhan Xian Jay (#113, Singapore Sports School) – 55.78s
3rd Muhammad Nur Haqim B Abu M (#125, Singapore Sports School) – 58.77s
4th Ringo Han Jia Ming (#300, Raffles Institution) – 59.35s
5th Isaac Ming U Yang (#199, Catholic High) – 59.72s
6th Marcell Tan Yann Guang (#122, Singapore Sports School) – 59.87s
7th Dymtryk Sng Wen Jun (#332, St. Joseph’s Institution) – 59.99s
8th Randall Choo Tian Xi (#551, Hwa Chong Institution) – 1:03.15
Video © SAA. Used with permission.
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