Story and photos by Cara Wong/Red Sports
Heng Jee Kuan (#281) of Raffles Institution attempts to clear 4.01m during the B Div boys’ pole vault final (Photo 1 © Cara Wong/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Wednesday, April 4, 2018 — Raffles Institution’s Heng Jee Kuan broke Hwa Chong Institution’s (HCI) dominance in the B Div Pole vault event when he clinched the title with a 3.80m effort at this year’s National Schools Track and Field Championships.
His win ended a pole vault medal drought for RI, which had lost out to HCI for two seasons. HCI had a clean sweep of the B div pole vault podium for two years running.
While it is not Jee Kuan’s personal best, his winning effort bagged him his first National Schools medal. He came in fifth last year and failed to clear any height in the previous year.
“The win was a bit of a surprise because although I cleared 4m and got second at Nationals Junior, I was feeling very unconfident for every training afterwards, so I couldn’t clear any heights,” said Jee Kuan.
“My performance this competition was beyond my expectations. I was just hoping to win more points for my school because we really wanted to win the title this year and now we have a good chance at it,” he added.
Jee Kuan said he was also motivated by the thought of doing his coach proud.
“He has coached me for four years and I disappointed him once when I was year 2 and did not clear any height, I just wanted to win a medal for him and do him proud,” said Jee Kuan.
Elliott Wee Junn of Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) came in second with a jump height of 3.75m, while third place was clinched by Heng’s team-mate Jonathan Pua who jumped a height of 3.70m.
The B Div pole vault record stands at 4.64m, and was set by HCI alumnus Chan Sheng Yao in 2012.
B Div Pole Vault (Boys) Results
1st Heng Jee Kuan (#281, Raffles Institution) – 3.80m
2nd Elliott Wee Junn (#181, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road)) – 3.65m
3rd Jonathan Pua (#298, Raffles Institution) – 3.55m
4th Jeremy Too Yun An (#477, Victoria School)
5th Oh Chin Aik (#550, Hwa Chong Institution)
6th Ian An (#495, Victoria School)
7th Aaron Wong Cheng Kit (#271, Raffles Institution)
8th (tied) Jaris Chow Si Cheng (#476, Victoria School) & Keith Loh Kai Kiat (#545, Hwa Chong Institution)
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