Story by REDintern Jessica Soo. Photos by REDinterns Jared Khoo and Julianna Jothi, and Iman Hashim/Red Sports.
Samantha Theresa Ortega (#609) of Singapore Sports School finished in first place in the C Division Girls’ 100m final with a time of 12.70s. (Photo 1 © REDintern Jared Khoo)
National Stadium, Friday, March 29, 2019 — Just a few days earlier, the two emerged as champions in their C Division 200-metres finals.
The stands at the National Stadium saw a similar show of brilliance as Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)’s Xavier Tan and Singapore Sports School’s (SSP) Samantha Ortega found gold yet again at the 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships, this time in the highly anticipated 100m finals.
Not only did their efforts earned them a consecutive gold medal, both champions topped their performances by achieving new personal bests.
For Samantha, she crossed the finish line with a timing of 12.70 seconds, shaving 0.08s off her previous best set in a Little Athletics Western Australia (LAWA) meet last year.
Eleana Goh of Nanyang Girls’ High School and Amelie Tsai of CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School finished close behind with timings of 13.01s and 13.09s respectively, in a repeat of the same podium standings in the 200m final.
“I wasn’t fully confident that I would get the gold, as all that I wanted was a good personal best,” Samantha shared. “Throughout the race, I just focused on working my start and keeping my body relaxed as well as maintaining my frequency.”
She also added that she was challenged by her formidable competitors, most of whom she went head-to-head with in the 200m final.
“They ran their hearts out and did the best they could, given the amount of pressure and time. They did their school and themselves proud, and I’m happy for them,” Samantha said.
On the other hand, Xavier was filled with confidence for the 100m final, and did not allow a hip injury he sported to affect his mentality.
He stopped the clock at 11.71s, just a stride ahead of Huang Weijun of Singapore Sports School and Isaac Koh of Raffles Instituition, who finished with timings of 11.79s and 11.92s respectively.
When asked about his performance during the race, Xavier shared that he felt that it was “alright”, though also adding: “I felt I could have done better due to an injury at my hip.”
“I couldn’t think much during the race, but my injury had hurt a little, and even got worse after the race.”
Having sealed the sprint double, Xavier looks forward to the track meet next year, while Samantha will be gearing up for the next LAWA meet, where she aims to finish on the podium and lower her personal best again.
C Division Girls’ 100m Final – Results
1st Samantha Theresa Ortega (Singapore Sports School #609) — 12.70 seconds.
2nd Eleana Goh En Ya (Nanyang Girls’ High School, #925) 13.01
3rd Amelie Tsai Yih-Jenn (CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, #536) — 13.09
4th Tan Yi Han, Ashley (Cedar Girls’ Secondary, #784) — 13.38
5th Qiu Xinyu (Nanyang Girls’ High School, #931) — 13.38
6th Nikita Mae Jing-Yu Meyers (Singapore Sports School, #607) — 13.57
7th Liao Yi Ning Lyn (Cedar Girls’ Secondary, #769) — 13.59
8th Meredith Lee Woon Yen (Cedar Girls’ Secondary, #768) — 13.59
C Division Boys’ 100m Final – Results
1st Xavier Tan Tze How (Anglo Chinese School (Independent), #164) — 11.71 seconds
2nd Huang Weijun (Singapore Sports School, #103) — 11.79
3rd Isaac Koh Wei Jie (Raffles Institution, #224) — 11.92
4th Mohamad Afzal Bin Mohamad Zin (Singapore Sports School, #107) — 12.00
5th Elroy Quek Zhi Yuan (St. Joseph’s Institution, #259) — 12.09
6th Augustus Gerald Tay (Catholic High School, #29) — 12.18
7th Servio Tye Wei Hern (St. Joseph’s Institution, #280) — 12.18
8th Lim Yong Qi (Singapore Sports School, #106) — 12.24
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