Fang Jianyong of SIM out in front by himself in the 800m final. (Photo © Khoo Yuan Zhi. Used with permission)
Singapore Polytechnic, Saturday, January 11, 2014 — Fang Jianyong of the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) ran a brave race to win the men’s 800m final in a time of 1 minute 58.54 seconds at the Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Track and Field Championships.
Jianyong took the lead right from the gun and never looked back as he won comfortably. Muhammad Reyhan Ameirul of Temasek Polytechnic finished second in 2:04.47 with Chua You Boon, also of SIM, clinching bronze in 2:05.26.
The race was a clear-cut affair as Jianyong opened up a sizeable gap by the first lap. Running a first lap of 56s, he was on course to meet the qualifying time of 1:57 for the ASEAN University Games (AUG) in December before fading away in the second lap and missing the mark by 1s.
Jianyong commented: “It was hard running without a pacer, as I have done better times in training with pacers.” He was optimistic about his chances of qualifying for the AUG as this was only his first race of the season.
“I need more build up for big races as previously I have been focusing on longer events such as the 10k,” he added.
The silver medallist, Reyhan, was content with the result as he fulfilled his target of securing a medal. “This race was only 30 minutes after the 400m heats so I was feeling a bit fatigued at the start,” he said. Reyhan ran 51.69s in the 400m heats to qualify in pole position for the final.
“My only plan was to follow the top three runners from the start and I managed to clinch the silver by starting my kick in the last 250m of the race,” he added.
800m Final (Top 8)
1st Fang Jian Yong (SIM) – 1:58.54
2nd Muhammad Reyhan (TP) – 2:04.47
3rd Chua You Boon (SIM) – 2:05.26
4th Yong, David (NP) – 2:06.95
5th Koo, Ray Jian Hui (ITE) – 2:08.35
6th Wong Jia Sheng (RP) – 2:09.55
7th Chan Jia Hao (NUS) – 2:10.09
8th Lee Guan Lin (NUS) – 2:10.95
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