Story by REDintern Denise Chia. Photos by Les Tan/Red Sports.
Shafiq of RI celebrates his 1500m win. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Singapore National Stadium, Friday, April 29, 2016 — Mohammad Shafiq Anshad of Raffles Institution took home the A Division 1500m gold in 4 minutes 21.76 seconds at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships.
The electronically-timed record, which was set by Anglo-Chinese Junior College alumnus Nigel Foo Siang Kee in 1995, stands at 4:06.40.
This marks Shafiq’s second individual medal at these Championships this year. He took home the silver medal in the A Division 800m event last Friday.
Hu Huaxin of Hwa Chong Institution won silver in 4:23.36 while Shamus Lim, also of HCI, was third in 4:24.54.
The race got off to a fast start, with Isaac Tan of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) establishing a 10m lead by the end of the first lap.
Chester Lee of RI, a hot favourite for the 1500m event, pulled out after the first lap due to a flare-up of a hamstring injury previously sustained during training.
Isaac widened his lead, creating a 50m gap between himself and the chasing pack by the end of the second lap. Charles Kwong of ACS(I) also pulled away from the pack slightly, hoping to break away.
However, the chasing pack was relentless. Led by Shafiq, the pack caught Charles in the third lap and closed the gap with Isaac.
Shafiq then broke away from the pack at the beginning of the last lap, making his move early to establish his lead way before the finish line. Aaron Chan of RI followed his lead, overtaking Charles and moving himself into second place.
By the last 100m, Shafiq had a 20m lead, and he went on to win the gold by almost two seconds.
Aaron, who seemed set for the silver medal, was pushed off the podium in the final stretch when Hu Huaxin and Shamus Lim, both of HCI, outsprinted him in the last 50m to claim silver and bronze respectively.
A Division 1500m (Boys) Results (Top 10)
1st Mohammad Shafiq Anshad (#145, Raffles Institution) — 04:21.76
2nd Hu Huaxin (#251, Hwa Chong Institution) — 04:23.36
3rd Shamus Lim Shi Hoe (#269, Hwa Chong Institution) — 04:24.54
4th Aaron Chan Siang Joo (#120, Raffles Institution) — 04:25.59
5th Sherman Lim Jun Hong (#206, Victoria Junior College) — 04:26.34
6th Azure Dhilawala Mohan (#187, Victoria Junior College) — 04:28.22
7th Tan Wei Long Isaac (#68, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)) — 04:28.94
8th Tan Yong Jin, Dylan (#271, Hwa Chong Institution) — 4:30.53
9th Teng Jian Ling (#209, Victoria Junior College) — 04:31.82
10th Jonathan Wong Tse-Jie (#55, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)) — 04:33.15
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