Laavinia Jaiganth breaks 50-year-old Singapore Under-20 400m record

SINGAPORE – Almost 19,000km and 13 time zones away, teenager Laavinia Jaiganth was on fire in the cool 15 deg C weather at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru.

The 18-year-old lopped a whopping two seconds off her personal best (PB) in the 400m to break the 50-year-old national under-20 record on Aug 28.

Running in Lane 5 at the Estadio Atletico de la Videna, she clocked 54.66sec in the women’s 400m to finish sixth out of nine runners in Heat 6.

While she did not progress to the semi-finals, she eclipsed Chee Swee Lee’s old mark of 55.08sec set at the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran, Iran.

The Ngee Ann Polytechnic business student said: “My coach (Fabian William) and I had a very clear goal, which was to get a personal best.

“We trained towards that throughout our training camp in Ecuador and, when we left for Peru, it was clear that I was in good shape for a good PB.

“I also wanted to control my emotions and be more confident in international competition. I think we managed to achieve these goals pretty well.

“I feel like I’m just getting started, so there’s still room for improvement.

“Breaking such a long-standing record feels amazing. Having a record to my name feels great, and I am ready to get a few more under my belt.”

She had qualified for the meet via a universality slot as the best-performing female U20 athlete. Her previous PB was 56.86sec at the Singapore Open in April.

This is the second record-breaking achievement for Singaporean runners this season, after sprint queen Shanti Pereira bettered the national 400m mark with her 53.67sec effort at the Florida Relays on March 30.

Dipna Lim-Prasad’s previous mark of 54.18sec was set at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

The oldest national U20 record belongs to Mirnigar Begum, who ran the women’s 1,500m in 4min 41.8sec at the 1973 SEA Peninsular Games.

Singapore Athletics general manager Shalindran Sathiyanesan said: “SA is immensely proud of Laavinia’s extraordinary achievement at the World U20 Championships.

“Breaking a national record that stood for nearly half a century is no small feat, and her performance not only rewrites history but also inspires a new generation of athletes in Singapore.

“Her dedication, along with the guidance of her coach Fabian William, reflects the growing strength of our athletics community.

“We look forward to witnessing her continued rise and success in the years to come.”