Story by Edina Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan/Red Sports.
Nur Muhammad S/O Mohammad (#380, VS) on his way to gold in a time of 10:36.69. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — Nur Muhammad of Victoria School (VS) took home the C Division Boys 3000m gold at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships with a timing of 10 minutes 36.69 seconds.
The electronically-timed record for this event still stands at 09:41.35, set by St Patrick’s School alumnus Muthukumar in 1999.
Nur Muhammad had finished fourth at the 57th National Schools Cross Country Championships three weeks ago.
Joshua Rajendran of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) and Travis Tan of Raffles Institution (RI) came in second and third with timings of 10:41.18 and 10:42.14 respectively.
The runners stayed in a pack throughout the first lap. Muhammad led the pack, followed by Travis and Yeo Ke-Gan of Maris Stella.
The front pack remained close together until the second last lap, when Ke-Gan sped up and steadily pulled away from the rest. However, Joshua and Muhammad rose to the challenge and sped up, closing the distance and overtaking Ke-Gan in the final lap as he slowed down dramatically.
In the final 200 metres of the race, Muhammad outsprinted Joshua, coming in a comfortable first, followed by Joshua and then Travis barely one second behind.
When asked about the race, Muhammad said, “The race was a good and fun one, and I achieved my personal best. During the race, especially the second last lap, I felt nervous and afraid as Ke-Gan made a surge, which lowered my confidence as I was afraid I would not be able to catch up. In the final round he slowed down, and I took this opportunity to overtake him. In the last 200 metres, Joshua threatened to overtake me and I felt stressed. However when he slowed down, I sprinted to the finish and overtook him.”
“I would like to thank my coaches for guiding me through this journey of suffering, as well as my friends for their support and motivation, and my family for their constant support in the lead-up to this race,” he added.
Muhammad will now focus on the 1500m event taking place next Monday, April 25.
C Div 3000m (Boys) Results (Top 10)
1st Nur Muhammad S/O Mohammad (#380, VS) – 10:36.69
2nd Joshua Rajendran (#432, HCI) – 10:41.18
3rd Tan Gene, Travis (#227, RI) – 10:42.14
4th Tan Jiahao (#68, Edgefield Secondary) – 10:45.74
5th Yeo Ke-Gan (#79, Maris Stella) – 10:46.40
6th Ong Ee Howe (#160, ACSI) – 10:54.91
7th Yeo Zhi Yan (#453, HCI) – 10:55.07
8th Christoffer Eilertsen (#202, RI) – 11:00.48
9th Chua Jun Yu (#34, Catholic High) – 11:03.57
10th Tang Kai Evan (#262, SJI) – 11:04.89
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