Against all odds, Anglo Chinese Junior College's Phoebe Tay overcomes illness to emerge victorious in the A Division Girls' 800m final at the 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships.
"It doesn't matter who finished first or second. One-two finish is the best result for the team, and we will do anything to get it." In saying that, it is without a doubt that Hwa Chong Institution (HCI)'s Dai Hexuan held nothing but confidence as he and teammate Jacob Tan finished only four seconds apart during the C Division boys' 3000 metres final at the 60th National Schools Track and Field Championships. While the duo were taking turns throughout the race to lead the pack, Jacob concluded the race first in a winning timing of 10 minutes and 29.47 seconds. Following close behind were Hexuan and Raffles Institution (RI)'s Jonathan Tan, with timings of 10:33.62 and 10:35.66 respectively.
Wong Rui Yue of Victoria Junior College (VJC) came into the shot put competition aiming for a personal best (PB), but she definitely did not expect to achieve it with only her third throw of the competition. In the other field events that day, Raffles Institution’s (RI) Ryan Ng came out on top in the A Division discus throw event with a final distance of 44.68 metres. The second-year student, however, admitted that he did not do as well as he had hoped.
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.
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.
Hwa Chong Institution's (HCI) Clarice Lau claimed the A Division girls' 3000m title 17 seconds ahead of Anglo- Chinese Junior College's (ACJC) Caylee Chua.
Bouncing back from his defeat in the B Division boys' 1500-metre final, Chai Jiacheng took it in his stride to clinch the gold medal in the B Division boys' 3000m.
