Story by Ryan Lim/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan and Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports
Diane Pragasam (#86, SSP) won gold in a personal best of 26.24s. Ismi Zakiah (#87, SSP), who was on course to win the silver, fell just before the finish to end up sixth in 27.32s. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Monday, April 25, 2016 — Diane Pragasam of Singapore Sports School (SSP) claimed her second gold medal of the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships, finishing the B Division 200m final in a new personal best of 26.24s.
The electronically-timed record for the event continues to stand at 25.51s, clocked in 2014 by former Sports School athlete, Kugapriya D/O Chandran.
Diane’s previous personal best timing was 26.48s, set earlier in the heats.
Fresh from her 400m victory, Diane was now pitted against the favourite for the 100m gold medal, Tanisha Moghe of Cedar Girls’ Secondary School. Tanisha hit 12.85s in the B Division 100m semi-finals, the fastest time amongst her peers.
In the 200m semi-finals, Diane’s time was only 0.07s faster than Tanisha’s.
The race started with Diane in front, as she made an early burst. She strode through the final 80m as Tanisha almost caught up with her. Diane managed to fight off the late surge to cross the finishing line 0.12s ahead of Tanisha.
Ismi Zakiah (SSP) looked to have secured second place as she neared the finish but an unfortunate tumble just five metres from the finishing line denied her the medal as she finished sixth instead. Grace Anthony of Raffles Girls’ School took the third position, with a 26.95s time.
After the race, Diane commented, “This is one of the hardest race I have ever ran because the runners on my inside and outside are both one year older than me, and they are both really fast. When I ran I just gave it my best. I set a target of a low 26s, and I work very hard towards getting that timing.
“My parents, grandmother, coaches and general manager have been very supportive of me. After the race, they will rush down to ask me if I am ok, and if my legs are ok. They really take care of me. Their support is one thing that makes me drive towards doing a better job.“
When quizzed on her race strategy she said, “My strategy was to run my own race. If you follow others, everything will be wrong, your breathing and all. In my mind, I just ran for myself.”
On training for the 200m and 400m, she added, “This year I have been training more sprints, getting the frequency fast, making sure that the 100m gets faster and faster. If the 100m gets faster, the timing for everything else will most probably drop.”
Noteworthy: Amirah Aljunied (RI) won the girls’ A division 200m final in 26.29s. Nine of the last 10 championships have seen the winner of the girls’ B division clock a faster time than that of the A division.
B Div 200m (Girls) Results
1st Diane Hilary Pragasam (#86, SSP) — 00:26.24
2nd Tanisha Moghe (#273, CG) — 00:26.36
3rd Grace Shani Anthony (#213, RGS) — 00:26.95
4th Abigail Louise Tan (#16, SNG) — 00:27.12
5th Haanee Bte Hamkah (#249, CG) — 00:27.29
6th Ismi Zakiah Bte Kashful Anwar (#87, SSP) — 00:27.32
7th Camille Alix Damas (#102, ACS(INT)) — 00:27.40
8th Ong Ru Yin, Rebecca (#39, SNG) — 00:27.63
Wind speed: 0.2 metres per second
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