Story by REDintern Alyssa Almas. Photos by Iman Hashim/Red Sports and REDintern Julianna Jothi.
Samantha Theresa Ortega (#609) of Singapore Sports School clinched the C Division girls’ 200m gold in 26.50s. (Photo 1 © Iman Hashim/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Monday, March 25, 2019 — Singapore Sports School (SSP) cliched gold yet again at the 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships, this time in the C Division Girls’ 200 metres final when Samantha Theresa Ortega sped down the track to emerge victorious.
She crossed the finish line in a timing of 26.50 seconds, beating her previous personal best of 26.72s achieved in the semi-finals.
The result also improved on her silver medal showing in the event last year.
Samantha started off the race strongly, pulling away from her competitors from the sound of the gun. Blazing past the finish line, she won the race almost a full second ahead of her next competitor, Eleana Goh of Nanyang Girls’ High School (NYGH).
Speaking about her race, Samantha said: “I wasn’t confident about having a clear cut win today. At the start line, there’s always a chance for you to get second, fourth, or not even go on the podium at all.”
While Samantha had a clear-cut win, it was a closer fight for second and third. Eleana of NYGH was neck-and-neck with CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ Amelie Tsai on the final straight, but managed to fend off her competitor to finish second in 27.37s. Amelie settled for bronze with a time of 27.86s.
With the competition she faced in the final, Samantha said it was just pure determination that drove her across the finish line.
“When I came around the bend, I told myself ‘I want this so badly’, and I just kept chasing the finish line,” shared the Secondary Two student. “I just wanted to get it so badly, because I have not won in this event for three years.”
Samantha added that she felt humbled by her win, and said it was her competitors who spurred her on to push herself to her limits.
“They were really good, I was very proud of each and every one of them. They really ran their hearts out, and they crossed the finishing line with joy and I’m just really happy for them,” she said.
Showing gratitude to her support network, she continued: “I would like to thank my parents, and SSP — especially because each and every staff really cares for you so much, they pay so much attention to you and make sure you are okay.”
Ending off with a smile, she added: “I’m really grateful for SSP who has really nurtured me, and made sure that I developed well as an athlete — I’m especially grateful to the coaches as well, who are like a second family to me.”
Having won the 200m, Samantha hopes to repeat the same feat in the 100m final, where she will go head-to-head against Eleana and Amelie again. On the same day at the Sports Hub, she will also be running both relay finals for SSP.
C Division Girls’ 200m Final – Results
1st Samantha Theresa Ortega (Singapore Sports School, #609) — 26.50 seconds
2nd Eleana Goh En Ya (Nanyang Girls’ High School, #925) — 27.37
3rd Amelie Tsai Yih-Jenn (CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, #536) — 27.86
4th Laura Wong Si Teng (CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School, #553) — 28.01
5th Liao Yi Ning Lyn (Cedar Girls’ Secondary, #769) — 28.39
6th Nikita Mae Jing-Yu Meyers (Singapore Sports School, #607) — 28.54
7th Ho Zhi Ling (Nanyang Girls’ High School, #926) — 28.73
8th Meredith Lee Woon Yen (Cedar Girls’ Secondary, #768) — 28.82
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