Story by Nicole Lum/Red Sports. Photos by Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports
Joel Koh (#259) of Hwa Chong Institution in action. Joel came in first and set a new meet record with a time of 25 minutes 12.50 seconds. (Photo 1 © Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports)
Bukit Gombak Stadium, Thursday, April 16, 2015 — Joel Koh of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) powered through and lapped the majority of his competition in the A Division boys’ 5000m Walk at the 56th National Inter-School Track and Field Championships. His time of 25 minutes and 12.50 seconds broke the meet record (26:43.01) he set last year by more than a minute.
While Joel smashed his record, his performance was short of his personal best (PB) of 24:54.80 set in 2014. Despite that, he was contented with his achievement considering the fact that he has been riddled with injuries in the past few months. Joel is already looking toward the Men’s 20km walk event that he had just qualified for at the 28th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in June.
When asked about his race strategy, he said, “There was no solid plan. I went with my feeling and did according to how I train everyday.”
Teammate Dong Dexin was second in 27:31.13. “Although it wasn’t a PB or my best, I am satisfied that my training paid off well,” he expressed.
Rounding of the podium was Leong Sheu Xiang, also from HCI. He attained a new personal best of 27:52.98.
This gives HCI its second podium sweep of the championship, following the victory at the A Division girls’ High Jump event.
Joel, Dexin and Sheu Xiang had aimed for a similar feat last year, only to have their dreams dashed when they achieved a 1-2-4 finish respectively. This year, they credited their teachers and the school for making it possible.
“Our hard work paid off, especially that from our coach who displays great passion and sacrifices his time for us. He has always been there to train us, especially until late at night,” Joel explained.
A Division 5000m Walk (Boys)
1st: Joel Koh Zhi Xuan (#259, Hwa Chong Institution) – 25:12.50 (New Rec)
2nd: Dong Dexin (#252, Hwa Chong Institution) – 27:31.13
3rd: Leong Sheu Xiang (#269, Hwa Chong Institution) – 27:52.98
4th: Ng Jing Cheng (#124, National Junior College) – 28:24.73
5th: Shammo Chanda (#155, Raffles Institution) – 29:42.53
6th: Fong Hao Wei (#31, Serangoon Junior College) – 29:51.54
7th: Bryan Chong (#112, National Junior College) – 30:48.24
8th: Lee Zhi Yuan (#146, Raffles Institution) – 32:29.83
9th: Dominic Doel Soh Jun Wei (#92, Catholic Junior College) – 33:21.53
10th: Lim Wei Jie (#120, National Junior College) – 33:57.56
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