Story and photos by Iman Hashim/Red Sports
HCI’s Ethan Kong (#207) hopped, stepped, jumped over 12.53 metres to clinch the C Div boys’ triple jump gold. He had earlier claimed silver in the long jump leaping a distance of 6.00m. (Photo 1 © Iman Hashim/Red Sports)
Bukit Gombak Stadium, Thursday, May 5, 2022 — After entering the long jump six-metre club, Hwa Chong Institution (HCI)’s Ethan Kong hopped, stepped and leapt over 12.53 metres to take victory in the C Division boys’ triple jump.
The Secondary 2 student erased his previous best mark of 12.09m recorded at the Singapore Athletics U16/U18/U20 Championships a month ago, making it two personal bests in a row after claiming the long jump silver with 6.00m the previous week.
His performance was good enough to overcome the challenge put up by Raffles Institution (RI)’s high jump champion and national age-group record holder Rei Tan, who took silver this time with 12.44m, while fellow Rafflesian Lau Jia Hern placed third with 12.00m.
“I think the competition was quite stiff with RI putting in a good competition,” said Ethan.
“I think I got quite stressed, as they both hit around 12 (metres)… but I just gave it my all.”
Ethan admitted he had an eye on the championship record of 13.30m, set in 2005 by Singapore Sports School alumnus Matthew Goh, but he was eventually satisfied with the victory.
“I had it in mind at first… I tried to hype myself up, but I didn’t make it… but it’s not very disappointing,” he said.
“I’m just happy that I have improved, I’m not really bothered about the win… I just want to keep striving for improvement, and I think I can go even further next time,” added Ethan, who is coached by Chu Seow Beng.
RI’s Rei, the silver medalist, was still happy with his showing given that it was not his pet event.
“Coming from high jump, I didn’t really do triple jump for a long period of time, so I didn’t exactly know what to expect,” said the 1.86m-tall Secondary 2 athlete.
“I had a goal in mind that I wanted to hit, and I think my performance wasn’t that bad today. I’m a bit disappointed, but I feel that I have done what I could do for this year.”
Rei certainly has done enough the past month, having set a new national under-15 and championship record in the high jump, leaping over a height of 1.85 metres. His feat erased the 16-year-old marks of 1.84m and 1.82m respectively, both set by former HCI athlete Wayne Yap in 2006.
“I was happy that I broke the record, and I hope that I am able to put in similar performances in the future,” Rei said.
A day earlier in the C Division girls’ triple jump, Cedar Girls’ Keira Chua grabbed the gold with a distance of 9.93m.
National Junior College’s Esther Liew clinched silver with 9.69m, while Zhonghua Secondary’s Kiara Lim took bronze with 9.55m.
63rd National Schools Track and Field Championships 2022
C Div Boys’ Triple Jump Final
1st Ethan Kong Lye Kit (#207, Hwa Chong Institution) — 12.53 metres
2nd Tan Shou Yi Rei (#337, Raffles Institution) — 12.44
3rd Lau Jia Hern (#318, Raffles Institution) — 12.00
4th Ho Yuxi, Jasper (#209, Hwa Chong Institution) — 11.23
5th Keane Tan Yi Kai (#117, Catholic High School) — 11.03
6th Jonah Jude Seah Yong Le (#490, Victoria School) — 10.91
7th Lim Kyan (#497, Victoria School) — 10.89
8th Telukula Sourendra (#515, Victoria School) — 10.69
C Div Girls’ Triple Jump Final
1st Chua Li-En Keira (#49, Cedar Girls’ Secondary) — 9.93 metres
2nd Liew Jay Yee, Esther (#294, National Junior College) — 9.69
3rd Lim Chia Ying Kiara (#428, Zhonghua Secondary) — 9.55
4th Ess Claudia Joan Shi En (#53, Cedar Girls’ Secondary) — 9.53
5th Kayinn Ng Yu Ern (#138, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’) — 9.42
6th Allyson Choo Jia Yi (#121, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’) — 9.21
7th Chloe Choo Min Wen (#124, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’) — 9.18
8th Yerin Leysen (#301, National Junior College) — 9.04
More photos next page
Leave A Comment