Story by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck and Lee Jian Wei/Red Sports.

C Division boys' 800m

Mohamed Zulkhairi (#108) of Singapore Sports School in action. He won his first C Division boys’ 800m title with a timing of 2:09.03. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)

Bukit Gombak Stadium, Friday, April 17, 2015 — Debuting in his first C Division 800m event for the Singapore Sports School, Mohamed Zulkhairi (#108) clocked a personal best timing of 2 minutes and 9.03 seconds to win his first gold medal at the 56th National Inter-School Track and Field Championships.

“The race was quite tough and challenging, especially under this hot weather, but it’s good that I managed to fight hard and win the race,” he said.

The 14-year-old, who was a beneficiary under the CareRunners programme, an initiative by the SportCares Foundation, credits his running performance to the help of Laura Reid, Assistant Director of SportCares Foundation, and former national runner Elangovan Ganesan, who coaches the runners under the CareRunners programme.

“I still remember what they have taught me and even though I’m not running with them anymore. I will miss them,” added Mohamed Zulkhairi.

Teammate Brandon Norton (#99) completed the race in 2:10.58, while Hwa Chong Institution’s Chua Jia Wei (#397) completed the podium with a 2:11.80 run.

The C Division boys’ 800m record is 2:03.76 and it was set by Victoria School alumnus, Kannan Poobalan, in 1997.

C Division Boys’ 800m Results
1st: Mohamed Zulkhairi Puteri M Z (#108, Singapore Sports School) – 2:09.03
2nd: Brandon Norton (#99, Singapore Sports School) – 2:10.58
3rd: Chua Jia Wei (#397, Hwa Chong Institution) – 2:11.80
4th: Lim Song Yang, Samuel [#136, Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)] – 2:11.98
5th: Muhammad Hazim B Ismail (#110, Singapore Sports School) – 2:15.55
6th: Marcus Tan Lai He (#19, Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary) – 2:19.46
7th: Cheong Weilin, Kalen (#395, Hwa Chong Institution) – 2:20.01
8th: Kassim Kwok Ho Hey (#177, Pierce Secondary) – 2:20.24
9th: Lee Sheng Hao (#200, Raffles Institution) – 2:20.54
10th: Ian Matthew Ngui Cheng En (#340, Victoria School) – 2:21.02

More photos next page