SEA Games 2025: S’pore hurdler Calvin Quek’s win a boost ahead of 2026 Asiad and Commonwealth Games

SINGAPORE – Calvin Quek is used to clearing hurdles on the track and he has taken those off it in his stride.

In pursuit of faster times, the national hurdler, who is not a Sport Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship) holder, has had to dip into his savings to fund a portion of his training and competition expenses.

He estimates that he has spent about $3,000 to $5,000 in 2025, in addition to what is covered by Singapore Athletics (SA).

While admitting that having to pay out of his own pocket is not ideal, he also expressed his gratitude towards SA and has remained dedicated to his craft.

His commitment was rewarded at the Thailand SEA Games on Dec 15, when he claimed the men’s 400m hurdles gold to end the Republic’s 60-year wait for a title in the event.

When asked what keeps him driven, the 29-year-old said: “When I first came back to track (after national service), I came in with the mentality, ‘Who knows how much time I have left in this sport, let’s just see how far I can go with this until the day I decide that I’m no longer able to run faster or achieve some of the goals that I want to achieve’.

“Right now I’m still improving, still doing very well at this age where a lot of people will be long retired but I’m still going strong. The results from the last few years have given me the confidence that I can still continue for a few more years, maybe even to the 2029 SEA Games.”

It started off with the goal of breaking the national record, which he first achieved in 2022, as he became the first Singaporean to dip under the 52-second mark.

Since then, he has continued to lower his times, going under 51sec and then sub-50 in August, when he clocked 49.75.

His faster times have translated into podium finishes at the SEA Games. He claimed the 400m hurdles bronze at the Hanoi Games in 2022 for Singapore’s first medal in the event since 1969 and matched that effort in 2023, before clinching gold at the Supachalasai National Stadium.

He will take a three-week break before turning his attention to the 2026 season, which includes the Sept 19-Oct 4 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and the July 23-Aug 2 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“Winning the gold medal definitely gives me the confidence again to know that I really do belong with the best in the world and I can feel confident going towards the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, knowing I’m not just there to fill the numbers,” said Quek, who works in marketing.

“I’m actually there to compete with them and make it to the finals.”

Also looking forward to a break after a successful Games outing is Shanti Pereira, who made Singapore sporting history again as she completed a double-double by retaining her 100m and 200m crowns.

In doing so, she became just the second woman from the region to achieve the feat, after Vietnam’s Vu Thi Huong, who did so in 2007 and 2009.

Pereira said: “Overall, it was an amazing outing, not just for me but for athletics in general. I’m incredibly happy for all the medallists that came out and showed up, and even the non-medallists that did their very best.”

Singapore athletics’ largest-ever away contingent of 39 won a total of three golds, three silvers and three bronzes, alongside three national records.

It has been a long season for Pereira, who had to peak for three major competitions – the Asian Athletics Championships in May, the World Athletics Championships in September and the recent SEA Games.

Pereira will spend some time with family over Christmas and New Year, before resuming training as she eyes podium finishes in the 100m and 200m at the Asian Games.

At the 2023 Asiad in Hangzhou, Pereira won the 200m title, a first gold in athletics for Singapore at the continental meet since 1974, and claimed the 100m silver.

She said: “The target is to see that podium again for both events. I’m just excited to be going back as a defending champion. I don’t know if I’m going to be in this position again, so I just can’t wait for the Asian Games to come around.”

It will also be a big year off the track, with the sprint queen and her fiance Tan Zong Yang, a former national sprinter, planning to get married after the Asian Games.

Sprinter Marc Louis, who clinched the men’s 200m silver to end a 32-year wait for a medal in the event, is also excited for 2026 and has vowed to “work harder and come back stronger for the next major Games”.

Reflecting on the SEA Games, he said: “I already knew it, but it showed there are people who are training harder or as hard as you and doing as much as they can to be at their best at the Games.

“That showed me they’re all working hard for Asian Games, SEA Games, so I’m going to work harder and come back stronger for the next major Games.”