Story by REDintern Denise Chia. Photos by Les Tan and Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports.
Tan Chong Qi (RI #149) won gold in a time of 10:37.85. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Monday, April 25, 2016 — Tan Chong Qi of Raffles Institution (RI) defended his 3000m steeplechase title in a time of 10 minutes and 37.85 seconds at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships.
Although Chong Qi was aiming to break the record, the electronically-timed record still stands at 09:57.25, which was set by Victoria Junior College (VJC) alumnus Narayan Paudel in 2001.
Sudarshan Udpa of St. Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) bagged silver with a time of 10:46.90 while Teng Jian Ling of VJC clinched bronze in 10:47.11.
Chong Qi led the race from start to finish, leading by about 50m by the end of the first round. Cheong Wei Soon (#122, RI), Leroi Lee (#227, ACJC) and Jian Ling settled comfortably behind.
Jonas Ng of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) soon caught up with the trio and the group of four broke away from the main pack of runners. By the end of the fourth round, Chong Qi had established a 100m gap between him and the chasing pack. Coupled with his impressive steeple technique, he was almost impossible to catch.
Dylan Tan of HCI soon joined the chasing pack of four while Wei Soon fell behind. Leroi then stumbled while clearing a steeple, giving Dylan and Jian Ling a chance to break away.
Jian Ling started to open up in the second last lap, leaving Dylan in the dust. Jian Ling and Dylan seemed set for second and third place respectively.
However, in a surprising turn of events, a powerful finishing kick by Sudarshan from behind propelled him past Dylan and Jian Ling in the final 100m of the race to earn himself a silver medal by the skin of his teeth and pushing Dylan off the podium by a mere 0.01 seconds.
Chong Qi, on the other hand, finished nearly 10 seconds before Sudarshan came sprinting past the finish line.
“It was a very hot day,” said Chong Qi. “I was initially going for the record but halfway through it really felt too hot so I just decided to go for the gold.”
“From the results of my heats, at least I know I’m capable.”
Chong Qi clocked 10:08.47 in the heats last Friday.
A Division 3000m Steeplechase (Boys) Results (Top 10)
1st Tan Chong Qi (#149, Raffles Institution) — 10:37.85
2nd Sudarshan Udpa (#168, St. Andrew’s Junior College) — 10:46.90
3rd Teng Jian Ling (#209, Victoria Junior College) — 10:47.11
4th Tan Yong Jin, Dylan (#271, Hwa Chong Institution) — 10:47.12
5th Brandon Quek (#189, Victoria Junior College) — 10:52.21
6th Leroi Lee Rong Zu (#227, Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 10:53.30
7th Jonas Ng Zuo En (#253, Hwa Chong Institution) — 10:59.92
8th Lee Tze Kerr Scott (#258, Hwa Chong Institution) — 11:09.57
9th Azure Dhilawala Mohan (#187, Victoria Junior College) — 11:19.14
10th Lim Xi Chen Terry (#107, National Junior College) — 11:22.28
More photos next page
Leave A Comment