By Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports

C Division Girls' 3000m

Phoebe Tay (#365) of Nan Hua High in action. She clinched her first C Division girls’ 3000m title with a timing of 11:58.99. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

Bukit Gombak Stadium, Thursday, April 16, 2015 — In the C Division girls’ 3000m final at the 56th National Inter-School Track and Field Championships, the remaining 800 metres was what set Nan Hua High’s Phoebe Tay (#365) apart from the rest of the field.

Tay, who is debuting in her first National Inter-School Championships, covered the 3000m race in 11 minutes and 58.99 seconds, making her the only athlete in the field to finish with a sub 12 minute run.

“It’s a very huge achievement for me, as I’ve never thought that I would be getting a gold medal at the Nationals,” said the 14-year-old.

She added, “I was also really surprised with the win, because I didn’t get into the top three positions for cross country, which was a little disappointing.

“So I thought, maybe I will just try my luck at the 3000m event, because I can do long distances and get third or something. Coming in first is really unexpected.”

Along with CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School’s Elizabeth Liau (#31), Cedar Girls’ Secondary’s Vera Wah (#251) and Crescent Girls’ School’s Caylee Chua (#138), Tay established herself as one of the race leaders right from the start, as the four girls ran together until the final 800 metres.

The Nan Hua High student pulled away to a 30-metre lead from then, and eventually finished in first place.

The battle for the silver medal came down to the final 100 metres, where Liau, who was originally neck-and-neck with Wah, took off at a sprint to finish in second place. Wah was forced to settle for the bronze, finishing just 2.06 seconds behind Liau in 12:03.22.

The meet record of 10:55.12 was set in 2005, and it is held by Hua Yi Secondary alumna, Chua Khai Leng.

C Division Girls’ 3000m Results
1st: Tay Yu Phoebe (#365, Nan Hua High) – 11:58.99
2nd: Elizabeth Liau Le Min (#31, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’) – 12:01.16
3rd: Vera Wah Yi Rei (#251, Cedar Girls’ Secondary) – 12:03.22
4th: Chua Hsi-Ern Caylee (#138, Crescent Girls’) – 12:19.89
5th: Herline Natasha Yu Zhihui (#360, Methodist Girls’) – 12:33.81
6th: Nur Qistina Puteri Mohamed Z (#299, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’) – 12:35.55
7th: Koh Hui Yee, Sarah (#236, Cedar Girls’ Secondary) – 12:38.45
8th: Caitlyn Yeo Kai Lin (#27, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’) – 12:45.74
9th: Anna Crystal Fong Hui Yee (#224, Cedar Girls’ Secondary) – 13:05.82
10th: Lim Xin Hui (#190, Raffles Girls’) – 13:06.97

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