Story by Iman Hashim/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan and Chua Kai Yun/Red Sports.
Anchor runner Prem Sathiamoorthy of RI crosses first in 43.34s. Chow Kin Wei (#75) of CJC was second in 43.44s. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
National Stadium, Friday, April 29, 2016 — The Raffles Institution (RI) quartet of Joshua Yap, Ringo Han, Ryan James Tan and Prem Sathiamoorthy clocked 43.34 seconds to claim the A Division boys’ 4x100m relay gold at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships.
Catholic Junior College (CJC) finished a mere 0.1 seconds behind (43.44s) while St. Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) finished third in 43.74s.
Earlier in the day, Ryan (11.35s), Prem (11.38s) and Joshua (11.42s) had made it a 2-3-4 finish for RI in the A Division boys’ 100m final.
Joshua, who also finished seventh in the 200m earlier in the championships, gave RI a flying start on the first leg before passing the baton to Ringo, who was fourth in the 400m and sixth in the 200m. After a slight fumble, Ryan (100m 2nd; 200m 5th) then received the baton and maintained RI’s lead on the last bend, with CJC closing in.
On the anchor leg, Prem – who achieved third in the 100m and fourth in the 110m hurdles in just his first year competing in National Schools – successfully held off his CJC counterpart, claiming the victory for RI by a 0.1 seconds margin.
This was the eighth time in the last 12 years that a quartet from RI – or formerly Raffles Junior College, pre-2009 – has emerged victorious in the A Division boys’ 4x100m relay. After 2004, the only other winners in this event were Victoria Junior College (2009), Hwa Chong Institution (2011, 2012) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College (2014).
At the same time, the CJC and SAJC quartets achieved a rare podium finish in this event for their respective schools. For CJC, assisted by second runner and sprint double champion Shahmee Ruzain, it was only their second 4x100m podium finish in at least 29 years, apart from a bronze in 2013. Meanwhile, it was SAJC’s first top-three finish in this event since 1988, when they won it.
Detailing the baton changeovers, RI second runner Ringo said, “The baton changeover between Joshua and I did not go as well as in training, as he caught up to me very quickly. Fortunately, that was not that much of an obstacle in the race. In the changeover between Ryan and I, I caught up to him very quickly as well, and also missed his hand initially – causing the changeover to be delayed slightly.”
On his first ever relay gold, RI anchor runner Prem remarked, “I’m really happy because coming into Nationals I was much more concerned about the 4x100m relay than my 100m – I was really determined to not let my team down. I was a bit scared because the CJC runner was beside me but when I saw the results I was very happy and thankful.”
“I really owe it to the whole team and our coach, Mr Melvin Tan. Without them I probably wouldn’t have made it to the final (for 100m) or even been part of the relay team. My parents and friends also kept encouraging me to train hard and try my best since I just joined (track), and all of this is solely due to their support and motivation,” Prem continued.
Both Ringo and Ryan were also part of the team that clinched the 4x400m relay gold for RI later on the same day.
Ringo exclaimed, “I’m really happy that we managed to clinch a double relay gold as it is my last year in track. It was also the first time I had gotten a double relay gold.”
Ryan added, “I would like to thank our coach Mr Tan who has been the best coach anyone could ask for. He always supports and encourages us during training and we wouldn’t be here today without him. I would also like to thank everybody who has supported me along the way!”
RI’s double relay win was a toast to ending the season well, as they clinched the A boys’ divisional title by finishing 34 points ahead of perennial rivals Hwa Chong Institution.
Joshua ended off by adding, “For four years (in B and C Div) my teammates and I have been in pursuit of the title. We always thought we would win it but every time, there would be injuries or setbacks. This time our dream finally came true, and I hope that we will retain the title for many years to come.”
“This season, I have also come to realise that track and field – despite being an individualistic sport – can also knit hearts together for a common goal. I feel that track and field becomes a success when we treat it like a team sport, when you learn to look beyond your own interests.”
RI will aim to defend their 4x100m relay gold next year, as Joshua, Ryan and Prem are all Year 5s and have a year left in the A Division.
A Division Boys’ 4x100m Relay – Top 8
1st Raffles Institution — 43.34 seconds
2nd Catholic Junior College — 43.44
3rd St. Andrew’s Junior College — 43.74
4th Hwa Chong Institution — 43.80
5th Anglo-Chinese Junior College — 44.24
6th Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) — 44.60
7th Victoria Junior College — 44.92
Dunman High School — DSQ
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