Story by REDintern Alyssa Almas. Photos by Iman Hashim/Red Sports.
Phoebe Tay (#493) of ACJC outsprints HCI’s Vera Wah on the final straight to take the A Division girls’ 800m title. (Photo 1 © Iman Hashim/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Monday, March 25, 2019 — Winning the gold medal in the A Division Girl’s 800 metres final was a bittersweet moment for Anglo-Chinese Junior College’s Phoebe Tay — it was her last season and individual race at the 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships, having missed out on gold in 2018.
Phoebe crossed the finish line with a time of 2 minutes and 31.98 seconds, missing out on her personal best of 2:27.80 in 2017, back when she was a Nan Hua High School athlete in the B Division.
With a big grin on her face, the second-year junior college student said: “I’m quite proud of myself. With all things considered, I’m satisfied with how I did today.”
It was a tough race from the beginning — Vera Wah of Hwa Chong Institution was initially in the lead, followed by Klarisse Neo of National Junior College. Phoebe started off the race third, but was determined to make the race hers.
Halfway through the first lap, Phoebe went hard and overtook Klarisse, putting her in second place. Not willing to settle for second, Phoebe knew that she had a shot at taking the gold in the last 200m.
When asked what went through her mind at that point, Phoebe replied: “My coach told me to believe in myself, and to keep holding the pace that I was going at. He knew that I would be able to kick earlier than everyone else, so I just followed what he told me, even though I was not confident about it. After all, what coach says holds.”
Putting the pedal to the metal, she pulled around the bend, giving it her all and sprinted to the end, almost tripping in her last few strides. Still, the lead she had taken ensured she kept her win.
Striding past the finish line, Phoebe collapsed in a heap, the toll of the race finally setting in. The pain was so intense that she could not even stand on her own, and had to be helped off the track in a wheelchair by paramedics.
It had been a tough few months for Phoebe, having been in and out of hospital due to a bout of neuronitis, which prevented her from training, especially during the crucial December holiday period.
“I was super scared — I’ve been super stressed for the past few weeks,” she said, recounting her challenges. “I had very high expectations of myself but I wasn’t in very good form. I was quite sick the past December holiday, so I was out of training for quite a while. I was under a lot of pressure and I did not want to disappoint my coach. However, I’m glad that I managed to hold up.”
Having had a tough race, Phoebe was extremely humbled by her fellow competitors that kept her going.
“I think they were very good competition, and they really pushed me especially at the last 100m. I think everyone did a very good job today,” she said with a smile.
When asked about her biggest motivator, Phoebe owed all her success to her coach, G Elangovan, who had motivated her and pushed her to do her very best despite all the hardships.
“I would really like to thank my coach — he’s been with me for the last six years of track, and this is my last individual event, so a really big thank you to him for believing in me even when I’m stressed and have no faith in myself,” she said. “I’m thankful for all the scoldings he gave me, telling me to buck up and push myself more. This is someone who you would really call a coach.”
A Division Girls’ 800m Final – Results
1st Phoebe Tay Yu (Anglo Chinese Junior College, #493) — 2:31.98
2nd Vera Wah Yi Rei (Hwa Chong Institution, #528) — 2:32.31
3rd Toh Pei Xuan (Hwa Chong Institution, #527) — 2:34.22
4th Amanda Wong Nai Lin (Victoria Junior College, #470) — 2:35.57
5th Klarisse Neo Man Ling (National Junior College, #377) — 2:39.37
6th Rebecca Yeo Wen Yu (Raffles Institution, #412) — 2:42.49
7th Lee Yun En (Victoria Junior College, #459) — 2:44.39
8th Lim Kai June (National Junior College, #379) — 2:44.63
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