Story by REDintern Daniel Yeo. Photos by Chan Hua Zheng and Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports.

Elaine Quah (#128) of Raffles Institution in action as she leads the pack. She clocked 8:02.92 to clinch gold with a timing of 8:02.92. (Photo © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

Elaine Quah (#128) of Raffles Institution in action as she leads the pack. She clocked 8:02.92 to clinch gold with a timing of 8:02.92. (Photo 1 © Chan Hua Zheng/Red Sports)

National Stadium, Wednesday, April 11, 2018 — With a timing of 8 minutes and 2.92 seconds, Raffles Institution’s Elaine Quah blew out the rest of the field to win gold in the A Division Girl’s 2000m Steeplechase final at the National Schools Track and Field Championships.

After a collision with the steeple and her fourth-place finish last year, Elaine qualified for the Asian Youth Athletics Championship 2017, where she ran a personal best of 7:53.83.

“Today, I didn’t manage to hit my PB, but on the bright side, I didn’t hit any steeples,” Elaine quirked.

As soon as the race began, she jumped out to an early lead. But for a lap or two, Hwa Chong Institution’s Clarice Lau was keeping up and it seemed like she could have made it a close one.

However, from the third lap onwards, Elaine began to steadily open a gap between her and Clarice. By the final lap, there was no question on who would be claiming the gold.

Clarice eventually dropped to third with a timing of 8:25.06, after teammate Cheryl Chng’s late surge in the final lap. Cheryl finished with a timing of 8:22.60 to clinch the silver.

We asked how the race went for Elaine: “I guess it was fun.”

A Div Girls’ Steeplechase 2000m Results (Top 10)
1st: Quah Li Ying Elaine (#128, Raffles Institution) — 8:02.92
2nd: Cheryl Chng Si Yin (#244, Hwa Chong Institution) — 8:22.60
3rd: Clarice Lau Jia Yun (#247, Hwa Chong Institution) — 8:25.06
4th: Lim Su Ann (#259, Hwa Chong Institution) — 8:37.73
5th: Tay Ling Lin (#199, Victoria Junior College) — 8:48.18
6th: Chen Hwee Yee (#109, Raffles Institution) — 8:54.68
7th: Lee Yi Hui Rachel (#190, Victoria Junior College) — 9:08.13
8th: Yeo Wen Yu Rebecca (#137, Raffles Institution) — 9:15.08
9th: Sarah Anna Tay Syn Yin (#78, Catholic Junior College) — 9:46.38
10th: Kong Yan Yee (#98, National Junior College) — 10:22.28

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