Story by Iman Hashim/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan/Red Sports
Joseph Zhao (HCI #254) jumped a massive personal best of 6.97 metres to win gold. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Wednesday, April 13, 2016 — Joseph Johnathan Zhao of Hwa Chong Institution clinched the A Division Boys’ long jump gold at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships with an impressive leap of 6.97 metres.
Gary Wee of Singapore Sports School and Toh Wei Yu of Raffles Institution came in second and third, with 6.94m and 6.85m jumps respectively.
The jump distances were all personal bests for each of the top three jumpers, in an event which saw a huge improvement in standard from last year’s results – a 6.43m jump was enough to earn a silver medal last year. The eighth-placed mark this year was 6.40m, a huge jump from 5.68m in last year’s championships.
In fact, since 1998, the best eighth-placed mark in the event was 6.21m, until this year.
There was a strong tail wind favouring the jumpers during the event. Joseph and Gary’s best jumps were accompanied by wind speeds of 2.0 m/s – the exact allowable limit for record-setting and keeping purposes.
Prior to the event, Gary and Wei Yu were seen as the favourites for the title. Gary had the best result among the jumpers this year (6.78m) while Wei Yu had jumped a 6.74m, both recorded at the Singapore Athletics National U18/U20 Championships in March.
In comparison, Joseph’s previous personal best in the long jump was 6.27m, set at the Singapore Athletics Series 1 in January this year.
Going according to the script, Gary and Wei Yu set the early benchmark – Gary recorded 6.82m on his fourth attempt while Wei Yu jumped 6.62m. On the fifth attempt, Gary then set the bar high at a whopping 6.94m, with Wei Yu heating up the competition with a 6.85m leap. At that point, Joseph’s best effort only stood at 6.62m.
Then with his last jump, Joseph surprised everyone – including himself – by leaping 6.97m to snatch the gold. Wei Yu’s and Gary’s last jumps of 6.85m and 6.79m respectively fell short.
Joseph commented, “I’m just really, really happy. It’s totally unexpected, there was no way to describe it.”
On what went through his mind before that last jump, Joseph added, “Honestly, I tried my best not to be bothered (about my other competitors). I just focused on my own technique, focused on what I was doing and getting back into the zone whatever happens. I was just thinking about my technique, to get my run-up correct, the strides all perfect, and everything would flow nicely.”
Joseph’s result was the best A Division gold medal performance in the long jump since 2006, where Wang Kan, then of Raffles Junior College, set the championship record of 7.07m.
Both Joseph and Gary are now mere centimetres from breaching the 7m-mark, a barrier only 14 local jumpers have managed to conquer.
For now, Joseph is aiming to clinch his second gold medal of the championships in the triple jump. Last year, he had finished second in the triple jump and did not participate in the long jump because of a pulled hamstring.
The A Division Boys’ triple jump will be held on Monday, April 18.
A Division Boys Long Jump – Top 8
1st Joseph Johnathan Zhao Zhiwei (#254, Hwa Chong Institution) — 6.97 metres
2nd Gary Wee Wei Zong (#30, Singapore Sports School) — 6.94
3rd Toh Wei Yu (#154, Raffles Institution) — 6.85
4th Wong Kar Fai (#237, Anglo-Chinese JC) — 6.61
5th Ivan Mun Jern Wei (#109, National JC) — 6.44
6th Charles Teo Wei Xin (#153, Raffles Institution) — 6.42
7th Zachary Lau Weng Yik (#277, Hwa Chong Institution) — 6.41
8th Adlan Syaddad B Mohamad Yani (#28, Singapore Sports School) — 6.40
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