B Div 110m Hurdles: Jay Choo takes gold in 14.84s for Sports School

By Tay Jun Wen/Red Sports

Jay Choo (#100, right) of Sports School was first in 14.84s while Muhammad Danial Bin Othman (#477, centre) of Victoria School was second in 15.21s. Muhammad Adnan Hakim (#106) also of Sports School, was third in 15.50s. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Sports Complex, Thursday, April 11, 2013 — Jay Choo Zhan Xian of Singapore Sports School took home gold in 14.84 seconds in the B Division 110 metres hurdles final at the 54th National Schools Track and Field Championships. The silver medalist was Victoria School’s Muhammad Danial Bin Othman with a 15.21s timing and winning bronze was Jay’s teammate, Muhammad Adnan Hakim, in 15.50s.

After winning the race, Jay said: “I was happy about the race. I was aiming to win and I did a new personal best. I managed to go in between hurdles quickly. However when I was jumping, I was not quite balanced. But overall, it was still a good race.”

Jay added that his competitors were really nice people, motivating one another before the race.

In second place was Danial, who said: “It was quite a good race. I was hoping to beat Jay. I felt that that I did well when I chased down Adnan. However, I need to improve on my start and be more focused. I started today slower than usual and was not focused.”

Added Danial: “They were strong competitors. But we were quite good friends with one another, too. We were laughing around in the call room before the race started.”

“Oh. I’d like to thank my coach Yu Long Nyu. Best coach ever!” Danial exclaimed.

It was a surprising result for Adnan of Singapore Sports School. “I aimed to only get into the 100m final. I was elated to even get a medal,” said a happy Adnan.

Upon reflection, Adnan realized that he was hanging too much in the air when he jumped and he could speed up between hurdles.

“My start and ending were done well. The competition was quite tough. We are close friends off the track. But on the track, they (competitors) really pushed me,” Adnan said.

B Division Boys 110m Hurdles Results
1st Jay Choo Zhan Xian (Singapore Sports School, #100) — 14.84s
2nd Muhammad Danial Bin Othman (Victoria School, #477) — 15.21s
3rd Muhammad Adnan Hakim (Singapore Sports School, #106) — 15.50s
4th Muhammad Hariz Bin Darajit (Raffles Institution, #283) — 15.53s
5th Yohannes Ignatius Kartika (Victoria School, #491) — 15.97s
6th Ow Yeong Wei Bin (Hwa Chong Institution, #541) — 16.17s
7th Dymtryk Sng Wen Jun (St. Joseph’s Institution, #318) — 16.60s
8th Muhammad Yasser Bin Abdul Rashid (St. Joseph’s Institution, #326) — 16.84s