With only 50 metres left to go, Singapore Sports School's (SSP) Raam Muthukumaran pushed with all his might to clinch the first gold medal of his schools track career in the B Division Boys' 400m event. Raam finished with a winning time of 52.52 seconds, followed closely behind by Ho Zhe Xi of Raffles Institution (RI), who clocked 52.62s.
Mervyn Ong of Nan Hua High School (NHHS) burst past his competitors during the final lap of 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships to sustain a definite win and secure a hold on the C Division Boys' 1500 metres throne. Mervyn stopped the clock at 4 minutes and 38.59 seconds, just a few strides ahead of Elliot Wong of St. Joseph Institution (SJI), who finished with a best time of 4:41.06.
The C Division girls' 1500 metres event was a first for many of the competitors, including both gold and silver medalists. Despite the nerves and adrenaline on a high, Singapore Sports School's (SSP) Cheyenne Lim was not ready to let it get to her. With a personal best of 5 minutes and 27.03 seconds, Cheyenne took it in her stride to be the first to stop the clock during the race. Followed less than a second behind was Cedar Girls' (CG) Eryka Anna Kerner Pasupathy, similarly smashing her previous best to clock in a timing of 5:27.99.
RI showed exemplary performance by securing first, second and fourth placings in the A Division boys' javelin event. With a winning throw of 56.52 metres, Joel Low secured gold followed by his teammate Xavier Emmanuel Leung.
A bad back injury which lasted eight months forced Sin Ming Wei out of his pet event, the sprint hurdles, three years ago. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. "That was when I realised I'm not cut out for hurdling because my injury stemmed from hurdling," said the Hwa Chong Institution Year 6 student. "Afterwards, I decided to try out 400 (metres), because back then I wasn't that of a strong starter, so I wasn't really that suited for the short burst events." "I think I had potential (in the 400m) and basically my coach and my teammates continued supporting me, and that's where I am today." And where he is today, is atop the A Division boys' 400m podium. In a tight race, he stopped the clock first in a personal best 51.45 seconds, finishing just 0.13s ahead of runner-up Samel Sahil Chetan (51.58s) of Singapore Sports School.
Diane Hilary Pragasam of Singapore Sports School clocked a new personal best of 1:01.00 to clinch her sixth 400m gold in six years at the annual National Schools Track and Field Championships.
CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls' School's Laura Wong emerges victorious in C Division Girls' 400m Final, finishing over a second ahead of her next competitor, Ho Zhi Ling of Nanyang Girls' High School.
RI's Caleb Loy overtakes ACSI's Rayan Bagheri Aghdam in the final 50 metres to clinch the gold medal in the C Division Boys 400m Final.
