Kerstin Ong breaks 100m hurdles national record with 13.86sec timing, eyes SEA Games debut
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Kerstin Ong with the Singapore flag at the Stadium Tuanku Syed Putra in Perlis, Malaysia, on Aug 30.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KERSTIN ONG
Follow topic:
- Kerstin Ong broke the national 100m hurdles record with 13.86sec at the Malaysian Open, 0.01sec faster than the previous record she jointly held.
- Her achievement fulfils a long-held dream and could see her competing at the SEA Games in Thailand in December.
- Despite financial constraints and juggling multiple jobs, Ong's dedication and support from her coach and employers enabled her success.
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SINGAPORE – A hundredth of a second can mean so much to an athlete.
For hurdler Kerstin Ong, it meant heartbreak in 2015, when she missed out on a home debut at the SEA Games by just 0.01 of a second – she was the third-fastest Singaporean but only two were allowed to compete.
A decade later, it brought her joy and jubilation.
At the Malaysian Open Athletics Championships on Aug 30, she clocked 13.86sec in the women’s 100m hurdles, 0.01sec faster than the 13.87 national mark she had jointly held with Nur Izlyn Zaini.
After chasing the mark for a decade, Ong now holds the national record outright, fulfilling a dream that she had since she was a teenager. “It definitely means a lot to me. I’ve always wanted to be the best of the best Singapore hurdler since young,” said the 28-year-old, who also thanked her coach Ricardo Diez from the Singapore Sports School.
Her timing at the Stadium Tuanku Syed Putra in Perlis placed her behind South Korea’s Jeong Yeon-jin (13.72), while Thailand’s Arisa Weruwanarak took bronze in 14.00.
The result also puts her in a good position to make her long-awaited SEA Games bow, after she was included in the successful appeals list for December’s SEA Games in Thailand, which the Singapore National Olympic Council issued on Aug 28.
She said: “The very first time I tried to qualify for the SEA Games, it was in 2015 and I never made a single SEA Games, so it’s been 10 years trying for the SEA Games so it really took a long time.
“I haven’t had the official announcement from the association, but I really hope I make it. It’s crazy, taking a decade, driving at this sport that really fuels my passion.”
Heading into the season, Ong had set herself two goals: to make the SEA Games and claim the national record.
Neither were easy, but the breakthrough finally came at the Singapore Athletics Allcomers Meet 3 on Aug 23, when she dipped under 14 seconds for the first time to equal Nur Izlyn’s 13.87sec national record set in 2022.
She said: “I knew I had it within me, I just needed to make sure that I could execute everything perfectly so I focused a lot on things I had to do like getting off the blocks fast, entering into the first hurdle fast, not jumping too high over the hurdles, so I was happy I was able to execute it the way I needed to in the last week and today.”
Accomplishing her goal came on the back of some personal challenges. With minimal funding to cover expenses for overseas meets, Ong has spent about $12,000 to date to travel and give herself better competition.
She has been juggling multiple side jobs, including freelance hosting, social media work and content creation, alongside her full-time role at a marketing agency.
Her employers have been supportive, allowing her flexible hours to train and compete, but the physical and mental toll has been heavy.
She said: “It was exhausting and takes a lot mentally. For today’s run, I felt like a truck hit me because this weekend is our final shot at the SEA Games qualifiers and I know there’s a break after this, so I tahan (endure) until today because I know I can rest afterwards.
“Since the race, I just crashed on the floor and lay down there.”
Ong is now mulling over becoming a full-time athlete in the lead-up to the SEA Games, though not before ensuring she has enough savings to sustain her for at least a year.
She said: “If I don’t do it now, I’m in my late 20s so I really want to give it my all and not have any regrets thinking that I could have, I should have, I didn’t want to give that as an excuse ever.”
She hopes to keep going till the 2029 SEA Games, which will take place on home soil for the first time in 14 years.
She said: “I want to bring the time down even more... I want to be able to bring medals, be the top in South-east Asia and eventually Asia as well.
“I also hope that this also reminds people not to give up on your dreams, but if you want it, as long as you put your heart and mind to it, it’s possible.”
Meanwhile, two-time marathon champion Soh Rui Yong, who was also successful in his appeal for the SEA Games
Instead, he will focus on the 10,000m, in which he won a silver at the 2023 Cambodia Games
He noted that Henry He and Richard Heng, who finished third at the 2024 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, are set to take the two slots for Singapore.
Soh said on social media that he feels that this is an invaluable experience for Heng, adding that it will “boost his experience, his profile and allow him to really propel himself to (become) our next great marathon runner”.
