SEA Games 2025: Calvin Quek wins 400m hurdles gold to end Singapore’s 60-year title drought

BANGKOK – Pressure can do many things to an athlete.

It can push them beyond their physical limits, or for some, break them.

For hurdler Calvin Quek, with pressure also came immense relief, after the 29-year-old rose to the occasion on Dec 15 to clinch the 400m hurdles gold at the SEA Games.

After two bronze medals and a 4x400m relay bronze across two editions, finally on the third time of asking, a gold medal was in his hands.

And in the process, Quek made history, too.

Victory at the Suphachalasai National Stadium in 50.27 seconds gave Singapore its first gold medal in the event in 60 years, with Gunasena Migale the last to triumph in 1965.

Vietnam rounded up the podium with Nguyen Duc Son (50.80sec) clinching the silver and Le Quoc Huy (50.91) winning the bronze.

Six-time winner Eric Cray of the Philippines was seventh in 54.67sec.

Quek said: “I wasn’t able to see where my opponents were in that last stretch. I just knew I was clearly in front and I had to stay in front no matter what... That was all I was thinking about. I didn’t even care about the technique any more. It was just run to the end.”

The chase for gold had taken Quek four years and the scene at the media mixed zone after the race said it all.

Physically worn out, he needed several minutes to recover as he sat on the floor, panting hard and staring into space.

The weight of what he had achieved finally hit him minutes later, as tears began flowing when he started to speak.

Quek said: “This is something I’ve been working towards since 2023. I had a tough 2024. I think this whole season, I have been trying to do my best.”

“There was a lot of pressure to win this gold medal after my national-record performance. It’s a lot of relief being able to achieve this after a whole year of hard work.

“The last few months, there was a lot of pressure, internal and external.”

In February 2022, Quek broke the national record for the first time with a 51.73sec effort at the Singapore Athletics SEA Games trial. He lowered it three months later to 51.19 to claim bronze at the Hanoi Games – the Republic’s first medal in the event since 1969.

He went faster again the following year, clocking 50.75sec to secure another bronze at the regional meet in Phnom Penh.

As he hit a plateau, doubts began to creep in.

Noting that some questioned why he was still running at 29, he added: “It’ll be great if people (and) the country don’t count out ‘old people’. We have seen enough global athletes who are able to compete at the highest level, even in their mid-30s. I don’t see why Singaporeans cannot do the same with the right support in place for them.”

Quek also paid tribute to his close-knit training group, which consists of coach Luis Cunha, sprint queen Shanti Pereira and her fiance, former national athlete Tan Zong Yang.

Stating that Cunha has “changed my whole life”, he added: “His training approach is different. In my case, it’s certainly a lot better. It is also a very healthy training group with a common goal of wanting to win medals at the Games.”

Cunha, who has worked with Quek since 2022, told The Straits Times: “It is completely different when you are an underdog and no one is expecting you to win, then now everybody is expecting you to win. So this is an extra pressure. He ran with a very high grit and his determination was unbelievable.”

On both his athletes winning golds in Thailand, Cunha added: “That’s the dream of any coach. So I cannot be more satisfied that they are creating a legacy and they are inspiring a lot of people in Singapore. I cannot be more satisfied with my role as a coach.”

The penultimate day of the Games’ athletics competition also saw Pereira anchoring the women’s 4x100m relay team to a national record.

The quartet of Kerstin Ong, Elizabeth-Ann Tan, Laavinia Jaiganth and Pereira finished fourth in 44.41sec to better the 44.66 mark set at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi in May.

Thailand won the gold in 43.88sec, while Vietnam (43.91sec) finished second followed by the Philippines (43.97) in third.

Pereira, who retained her 100m and 200m golds at the Games, said: “I was asked today by one of the relay girls, if it is a lot of pressure running at this SEA Games. Honestly, yes, it is. Because I want to win so badly, so I’m just so glad I’m going home with two gold medals and a national record.”

There was more cheer for Singapore athletics on Dec 15, when Andrew Medina won a bronze in the men’s long jump.

The 23-year-old leapt 7.53m to claim the bronze, while Andre Anura of Malaysia took gold with a 7.71m effort and Janry Ubas of the Philippines won silver (7.64m).

His achievement also ended a long medal drought for Singapore in the long jump event, with Ng Yee Meng last placing on the podium at the 1983 Games on home soil.

In the men’s 4x100m relay, Thai sensation Puripol Boonson rounded off a fairy-tale home Games by leading the hosts to gold in a new Games record of 38.28sec. Malaysia won silver in 39.03, with Indonesia finishing third in 39.51.

Singapore’s quartet of Marc Louis, Xander Ho, Tate Tan and Daryl Tan finished fourth in a time of 39.68sec.