Athletics: Singapore runners meet SEA Games qualifying mark at HK marathon

SINGAPORE - It was double delight for Singapore runners Jasmine Goh and Rachel See as both of them clocked personal best times at the Hong Kong marathon on Sunday (Feb 12).

Their finishing times were also under the SEA Games qualifying benchmark of 3hr 7min 14sec (3:07:14) which means they will be considered for selection for this year's Games in Kuala Lumpur. The two fastest qualifiers will be picked.

Goh, 37, clocked 2:54:51, bettering her previous best time of 3:03:40. She also won the women's Master 1 (35 to 44 years old) category.

See, 34, timed 2:58:51, improving on her previous personal best of 3:00:39. It was the first time both had cracked the three-hour barrier.

Said Goh: "I am pleasantly surprised (by the time). I believe the structured training programme set by my coach, on top of training with a group of disciplined runners from my club F1, helped me to excel.

"Winning the category of Women's Master 1, is a wonderful bonus."

Team-mate See said: " I was sick the whole of last week with flu so I am very happy with the time. I just kept telling myself that I must do my best because I am representing the country."

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