Shanti Pereira inspires record-breaking feats at National School Games’ track and field c’ships
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RI's Clara Lim (second from left) celebrating after winning the A Div girls' 100m final on April 25. ACS(I)'s Chloe Chee (No. 39) was fourth, Nanyang Junior College's Teh Ying Shan (No. 71) finished second, with Megan Ying (No. 227) of Hwa Chong Institution fifth. HCI's Rachel Soh (not in picture) was third.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
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SINGAPORE – When Clara Lim of Raffles Institution and Admiralty Secondary School’s Oliver Fiore took to the National Stadium track on April 25, they did not just plan on winning.
They wanted to win big – and they did. Both of them broke records on the final day of the National Schools Games (NSG) track and field championships.
Clara clocked 12.12sec in the A Division girls’ 100m final to lower the 12.21 mark set just over a year ago by herself, while Oliver won the B Division boys’ 1,500m final in a record 4min 9.03sec, eclipsing the previous standard of 4:12.61, which was registered in 2010 by Zachary Devaraj of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
Clara, 18, said: “The benchmark was already set by me last year to break the record and then to do it again was definitely something I was working towards. I think beating my record really shows me bettering my standards and being able to push the limits.”
Teh Ying Shan of Nanyang Junior College was second in 12.33, with Hwa Chong Institution’s (HCI) Rachel Soh third (12.36).
Clara’s love and passion for the sport serve as motivation to keep pushing herself and seek improvement, as well as inspirations like national sprinter Shanti Pereira, who had won both the women’s 100m and 200m in the Singapore Open that was held together with the NSG meet.
“Seeing how Shanti has been slowly breaking down all the barriers, it’s definitely been a very big inspiration for my performance,” said Clara, who also claimed gold in the A Division girls’ 200m final, setting an NSG record of 25.07 in that event on April 21, bettering the old mark of 25.20 set in 2018.
Clara Lim of Raffles Institution won gold medals in both the A Div girls’ 100m and 200m.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
While this may be her last race at school level, Clara does not plan on stopping. “I hope to be competing on the international stage a lot more now. Definitely Sing Open next year. I’m going to work towards that after my A levels.”
Later in the day, Oliver improved on his first runner-up finish from last season, clocking 4:09.03 to lower the previous record by 3.58sec. He finished ahead of Jeyaseelan Sai Hayagreev (4:14.29) of Bukit View Secondary School and ACS(I)’s Luca Chen (4:20.64).
Oliver had also set his sights on the ultimate prize. “Our main target this year was to break the record,” the 15-year-old said, referring to his coach, Jacquelin Kang.
Oliver Fiore of Admiralty Secondary School set a new NSG record in the B Div boys’ 1,500m.
PHOTO: JOELLE LIM
He shared that he was discouraged by missing out on first place by under 0.3sec in 2024, an unusually close margin for a distance event.
Said Oliver: “So this year, instead of just getting first, we wanted to put our name on the record because we’ll be there for like 20 years.”
Jeyaseelan, 15, who trains regularly with Oliver, praised his friend, saying: “We compete with each other all the time during training, but he’s a bit faster.”
Amid the dominance of the usual powerhouse schools, a victory for schools such as Admiralty will be savoured even more. “It’s really going to motivate my juniors and show them that it’s not impossible to win or break records, even though you’re from a neighbourhood school,” said Oliver.
“Everything is possible if you put your mind to it and have the correct mindset to put the training in,” added Jeyaseelan.
Elsewhere, HCI’s A Division girls also set an NSG record after clocking 48.18sec in the 4x100m relay. Victoria Junior College (48.96) were second, while RI (49.71) were third. The old record (49.40) was set by National Junior College in 2005.
HCI’s anchor, Rachel Soh, 17, said: “Prior to NSG, we were just aiming to have a smooth execution. But after the heats, we were hopeful of breaking the record.”
They were not the only ones from HCI to win gold. Jonathan Hoare came out on top in the B Division boys’ 100m final, despite getting off to a bad start.
Jonathan Hoare of Hwa Chong Institution (first from left) running off in celebration after winning the B Div boys’ 100m.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
“I thought I was gone from there, but I just remained calm and did what I knew I could do because if I tense up, I run a lot slower,” said Jonathan, 16, who added to his other gold medal in the 200m.
HCI won overall B boys, as well as C boys and A girls titles, while RI (A boys), Cedar Girls’ Secondary School (B girls) and CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School (C girls) also claimed top honours.
