Story by Dylan Chua/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports.
Benaiah Hoong (#294) of Hwa Chong Institution in action during the A Division boys’ triple jump final. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
National Stadium, Wednesday, April 11, 2018 — Hwa Chong Institution’s Benaiah Hoong leapfrogged Victoria Junior College’s Rik Lim into first place with a 13.43m final jump to clinch the gold medal in the A Division boys’ triple jump event at the National Schools Track and Field Championships.
Benaiah’s winning distance was just two centimetres off his personal best, set in B Division when he leapt 13.45m to win silver.
Clinching a gold medal on his A Division triple jump debut, his first ever, had Benaiah beaming with delight, but the Hwa Chong student felt that he could have achieved more.
“I was really happy that I finally climbed to first place (with my last jump) but felt that it was a wasted opportunity because I didn’t manage to get a personal best today,” shared the year one student.
Benaiah, who had won a silver medal in the long jump event last week, credited his coach’s advice for helping him overcome a rough start.
“I was aiming for first, and when the jumps were not really good in the first five attempts, I got slightly stressed out. My coach always says it is important to keep calm especially in stressful times like these. It is just best to do what we are taught and do what we trained for,” shared Benaiah.
Benaiah definitely enjoyed competing in the 55,000-seater state-of-the-art National Stadium and is already looking ahead to 2019.
“It was really fun and getting an opportunity to compete in the National Stadium was really good. I didn’t get a new personal best today but I will keep training and come back (stronger) next year,” he said.
A Div Boys’ Triple Jump results
1st: Benaiah Hoong (#294, Hwa Chong Institution) — 13.43m
2nd: Lim Rik (#246, Victoria Junior College) — 13.07m
3rd: Nicholas Tan (#308, Hwa Chong Institution) –12.83m
4th: Sven Shane Chen (#171, Raffles Institution) — 12.73m
5th: Huang Yuji (#9, Eunoia Junior College) — 12.47m
6th: Ryan Tan (#167, Raffles Institution) — 12.43m
7th: Jorden Chong (#110, Catholic Junior College) – 12.28m
8th: Neo Yi-En (#116, Catholic Junior College) — 12.20m
More photos next page
Leave A Comment