SEA Games: After a day of waiting following an appeal, Singapore's Michelle Sng is finally crowned SEA Games high jump champion

Michelle Sng after the SEA Games women's high jump victory ceremony on Aug 25, 2017. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Michelle Sng hugs her coach Chan See Huey after the SEA Games women's high jump victory ceremony on Aug 25, 2017. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
High jumper Michelle Sng was awarded the gold medal nearly a day after her event ended. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

SINGAPORE - Michelle Sng became the first Singaporean woman to be crowned the high jump champion at the SEA Games since 1965, when an appeals jury awarded her a joint-gold medal on Friday (Aug 25) afternoon - nearly a day after her event ended.

Vietnam's Duong Thi Viet Anh is the other joint- gold medallist.

The decision followed a protest lodged by Team Singapore on Thursday night.

Sng, 30, had initially tied with Anh on 1.83m, with both athletes being told by an official they would be awarded joint golds after each failed to clear 1.86m.

The Straits Times understands that the official then said the competition was over and removed all markers from the track - which jumpers use to pace off the length and angle of their jump - and also the high jump bar.

Sng took off her spikes and also removed the tape from her injured knee.

But another official later came over to tell the athletes that a tie was not allowed, and that there would have to be a jump-off.

This was won by Duong after Sng could not clear 1.82m.

However, the Singapore camp lodged a protest as they felt asking the athletes to do a jump-off after they had already cooled off was unfair.

Sng also could not re-tape her knee for the jump-off, as jumpers are not allowed to bring tape into the competition area.

The last Singapore woman to win the high jump at the biennial affair was Cheong Wai Hing in 1965, when the competition was still known as the South-east Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games.

Sng's victory is the Republic's first high jump gold at the SEA Games since Noor Azhar Hamid in the men's competition in 1975.

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