Story by REDintern Jessica Soo. Photos by Iman Hashim/Red Sports.
Jacob Tan (#445) led a 1-2 finish for Hwa Chong Institution in the C Division boys’ 3000m final when he clocked 10:29.47 to strike gold. (Photo 1 © Iman Hashim/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Monday, March 25, 2019 — “It doesn’t matter who finished first or second. One-two finish is the best result for the team, and we will do anything to get it.”
In saying that, it is without a doubt that Hwa Chong Institution (HCI)’s Dai Hexuan held nothing but confidence as he and teammate Jacob Tan finished only four seconds apart during the C Division boys’ 3000 metres final at the 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships.
While the duo were taking turns throughout the race to lead the pack, Jacob concluded the race first in a winning timing of 10 minutes and 29.47 seconds. Following close behind were Hexuan and Raffles Institution (RI)’s Jonathan Tan, with timings of 10:33.62 and 10:35.66 respectively.
Previously clocking a personal best of 10:40.91 during the heats, Jacob not only broke it, but clinched his first individual gold medal of the schools meet.
In his 1500m final last Friday, Jacob missed the podium by only 0.02 seconds — which he said led him to view the 3000m race as a “comeback”, where he delivered accordingly.
Right from the gun, the Hwa Chong duo were leading the pack, with Jacob taking the lead for the first lap. Throughout the race, the boys maintained a clear lead and drove off other competitors with their pacing.
“We took turns sharing the burden of taking the lead. Slowly but surely, many people dropped off until it was the two of us in the end,” Hexuan explained.
The boys showed true team spirit as Hexuan further shared about their motivation to win as a team: “Instead of using selfish tactics so that either one of us will win, our tactics are based on what is good for the both of us and the number of points we get for Hwa Chong.”
“This one-two finish is very good for the school, especially since as Victoria School is right on our heels for the C Division championship, so I feel that this result is very crucial for us to win the championship.”
Looking forward, the boys are feeling confident for the upcoming National Schools Cross Country Championships, where they hope to finish one-two again, “regardless of order on podium”.
C Division Boys’ 3000m Final – Results
1st Jacob Tan (Hwa Chong Institution, #445) — 10:29.47
2nd Dai Hexuan (Hwa Chong Institution, #440) — 10:33.62
3rd Tan Cheng Jin, Jonathan (Raffles Institution, #240) — 10:35.66
4th Namasivayam Siva Sanker (Yuan Ching Secondary School, #517) — 10:35.82
5th Wong Lin Kiat, Ryan (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), #163) — 10:41.68
6th Bryan Cheung Jia Jie (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), #138) — 11:04.08
7th Yang Heran (Hwa Chong Institution, #468) — 11:08.43
8th Tay Dian Jun Edward (Maris Stella High School, #72) — 11:17.37
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