Story by Edina Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports.

Nicole Low (#147) of VJC clinched gold with a timing of 10:57.61, breaking the last record of 10:59.21 set by Pamela Chia in 2003. (Photo © Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports)

Nicole Low (#147) of VJC clinched gold with a timing of 10:57.61, breaking the last record of 10:59.21 set by Pamela Chia in 2003. (Photo © Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports)

Bishan Stadium, Tuesday, April 19, 2016 — Nicole Low of Victoria Junior College (VJC) came in far ahead of the competition with a record-breaking 10 minutes 57.61 seconds to clinch the A Division Girls’ 3000 metres gold at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships.

Her timing dipped under the previous electronically-timed championship record of 10:59.21, set by Hwa Chong Junior College alumna Pamela Chia in 2003.

This was Nicole’s second straight gold for the event, as she had also won last year in 11:09.97. Notably, she had also won the A Division Girls’ cross country individual title three weeks ago.

Nah Yi Xin and Faye Chiang of Raffles Institution came in second and third with timings of 11:38.77 and 11:56.43 respectively.

The race started off with the runners swiftly dispersed. Nicole and Yi Xin pulled away almost immediately, widening the gap from the rest of the pack.

The duo ran closely together up to the start of the second lap, when Nicole pulled away from Yi Xin. She steadily increased her lead for the rest of the race, ultimately coming in a comfortable first with a new record to boot.

When asked about the race, Nicole said, “My legs felt heavy at the start as I was quite cooled down already. I decided to start off comfortably and speed up along the way. Although I had aimed for the record, I wasn’t very confident of breaking it as the past few trainings were not very good.”

“Although I could have afforded to go faster at the start, I am satisfied with my result overall. I would like to thank my teammates, classmates and coaches for this win,” she added.

Nicole will now focus on her 2000m steeplechase final, which will take place on Monday, April 25.

A Div 3000m (Girls) Results
1st Nicole Low Sui Xuan (#147, VJC) — 10:57.61
2nd Nah Yi Xin (#90, RI) — 11:38.77
3rd Chiang Aiting, Faye (#71, RI) — 11:56.43
4th Lai Zi Qing, Valerie (#82, RI) — 12:21.10
5th Awe Wan Qi, Valencia (#49, NJC) — 12:39.56
6th Mariana Ramos Branicio (#43, CJC) — 12:45.31
7th Ng Qi Hui (#146, VJC) — 12:48.46
8th Crystabelle Wang Jia Yu (#195, HCI) — 12:54.68
9th Jiang Jing (#107, SAJC) — 12:59.56
10th Shi Peng Yi (#209, HCI) — 13:16.35
11th Audrey Tey Ee Teng (#130, VJC) — 13:30.34
12th Ng Shilin (#57, NJC) — 13:48.10
13th Huang Huixin (#116, DHS) — 14:39.37
14th Chailyn Ong (#161, ACJC) — 14:58.75
15th Choo Hui Wen Darine (#35, CJC) — 15:01.64

More photos next page