Story by Nicole Lum/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck and Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports
Nur Haidah (#94) of Raffles Institution in action. She clocked a timing of 2 minutes and 26.58 seconds to clinch the gold medal. (Photo © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Wednesday, April 22, 2015 — A stumble by teammate Natalie Soh gave Raffles Institution’s Nur Haidah an edge to eventually grab the gold medal in the A Division girls’ 800m final at the 56th National Inter-School Track and Field Championships.
Haidah’s run of 2 minutes and 26.58 seconds gave her a second victory at the championships, after her 400m win last week.
Haidah’s result is the fastest in six years. It comes after Serangoon Garden Secondary alumna J. Lossini’s 2:25.81 run in 2009.
Haidah and teammate Natalie were both in the lead until the last 300m. The pair got off to a long kick then, but Natalie held the upper-hand as she outpaced Haidah. However, this did not last for long as a fast exhausting Natalie stumbled in the end, handing over the victory to Haidah who finished just 0.12 seconds ahead.
Thus, silver went to Natalie with a time of 2:26.70, while Dilys Hor of Hwa Chong Institution took the bronze in 2:32.23. Dilys was sitting behind the lead runners until the last 300m, where she made a move that saw her steal third place from Victoria Junior College’s Lee Yuet Zhen.
“My coach told me to run 72 seconds for the first round. But when Natalie overtook me I was like ‘oh no, oh no.’ It was a tough fight,” said Haidah about her performance. “I just aimed to run my own race.”
It is the second-year RI student’s final National Inter-School Track and Field Championships, having taken up the sport just three years ago. “It’s my last year and I wanted to go all out. I’m very thankful for the support I’ve been having from my family, coach, teammates and also my secondary school, Raffles Girls’ School,” she explained.
For the younger Natalie, she too agreed that it was a challenging race.
“The win went to Haidah, who I feel, is better than me. I couldn’t feel my legs at the end,” she said.
She still has one more year in the A Division.
She added, “It was a great season. It was basically a year for me to get comfortable with the new pace.”
Similarly, the 1500m silver medalist feels grateful to her parents, coach and teammates, including her alma mater, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School.
The meet record of the A Division Girls’ 800m stands at 2:18.93, and it was set by Jurong Junior College alumna Rahmah Begum in 1999.
A Division Girls’ 800m Results
1st Nur Haidah Bte Ahmad Kamal (#94, Raffles Institution) – 2:26.58
2nd Soh Hann, Natalie (#99, Raffles Institution) – 2:26.70
3rd Hor Wai Yin Dilys (#185, Hwa Chong Institution) – 2:32.23
4th Hor Kar Yin Carys (#184, Hwa Chong Institution) – 2:33.85
5th Lee Yuet Zhen (#125, Victoria Junior College) – 2:34.43
6th Lim Jing Yun (#127, Victoria Junior College) – 2:41.31
7th Marianne Elizabeth John (#91, Raffles Institution) – 2:44.79
8th Lim Jiahui (#63, National Junior College) – 2:46.79
9th Woo Jia Ning (#5, Anderson Junior College) – 2:47.38
10th Anita Kaur Gill (#115, Victoria Junior College) – 2:48.65
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