I’ve been away for a long time again because of personal commitments. But I just couldn’t resist the urge to post again after reading this report on the TODAY website (see below).
What an amazing day for the hurdles discipline in local athletics. My heartiest congratulations to Jannah Wong and Joshua Chua of Raffles Institution and to Singapore Sports School athletes Nur Izlyn Zaini and Tia Louise Rozario for their stunning performances at Choa Chu Kang Stadium.
My congratulations to their coaches too. It must have been a major thrill for them to see their charges repeatedly setting new national age-group and championship records this morning and afternoon.
Of all the record-breaking feats, Joshua’s timings in the Boys C Div 100m hurdles were the most impressive.
First, he chopped 0.46sec off Linus Chong’s record of 13.81sec in the morning heat with his time of 13.35. Then he proceeded to clock an even faster 13.26sec in the afternoon’s final. Phew! Just the thought of it is enough to leave me breathless.
Jannah’s times are also impressive. She is turning 18, and broke Dipna Lim-Prasad’s national junior record which was set by the latter when she was also 18. So it indicates that she is the next hurdler to watch in the coming years. I wonder if she can make it to next year’s SEA Games in Singapore.
Actually, I just hope all these new records indicate that we are looking at potential national hurdlers who will go on to represent Singapore with distinction at future SEA Games.
Hopefully, all this has made the Singapore Athletic Association sit up and take notice, and start thinking of a sustainable developmental plan to keep these young talents on the track for as long as possible, so that they can realise their fullest potential.
Yours in sport
Singapore Sports Fan
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Slew of hurdles records broken at National Schools C’ships (TODAY Online, April 8, 2014)
Jannah leads charge as several meet and national age-group marks are set in morning
and afternoon sessions
SINGAPORE – It rained hurdles records at the National Schools Track and Field Championships at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium the whole of today.
A range of national age-group and meet records all went a-tumbling as Jannah Wong, Tia Louise Rozario, Nur Izlyn Zaini and Joshua Chua burnt the tarmac with their sizzling displays.
The 17-year-old’s time of 14.69sec not only obliterated the championships record of 15.03, but also rewrote Lim-Prasad’s national U-19 and junior records of 14.72sec.
Wong was not the only Rafflesian to set new meet and national marks today.
Her younger schoolmate, Joshua Chua, set new Boys’ C Division and national U15 100m hurdles records today in the morning heats as well as in the afternoon final.
The Secondary Two student clocked 13.35 en route to qualifying for the final to smash the existing meet and national U15 mark of 13.81 set by Linus Chong in 2010.
Chua, 14, then did it again in the final when he won the gold in 13.26.
Singapore Sports School students Tia and Nur Izlyn also broke records in their respective events.
Tia set a new Girls C Div 80m hurdles record when she clocked 12.35 in her morning heat. The time was 0.09 faster than the existing record of 12.44 by Jannah in 2010. It was also 0.02 faster than Jannah’s national U15 record of 12.37.
To prove it was not a fluke, Tia then went under her new records in the afternoon’s final when she took the gold in 12.33.
This is the 14-year-old’s second championship record at the competition. She had set a new C Div long jump record of 5.23m on Monday.
Schoolmate Nur Izlyn was not to be outdone.
Like Tia, she erased Jannah’s B Div 100m hurdles record of 14.83 with her 14.77 effort in the morning’s heats. The time was also a new National U17 record as it was faster than the existing mark of 14.78 set by Goh Wei Ning in 2010.
Nur Izlyn struck again in the afternoon when she blitzed home in the final in 14.65.
Apart from all the hurdles records, the only non-hurdles championship record that has been set at this year’s competition has been in the Boys B Div discus.
Hwa Chong Institution’s Eric Yee hurled his way into the record books on Monday with his 48.79m effort, erasing the 48.70m record held by Scott Wong since 2006.
The Singapore Sports Fan Says... 