SINGAPORE - They may not have won a medal, but the Singapore women's 4x400m quartet did well enough to smash a national record that stood for 41 years in the event on Thursday at the SEA Games.
Consisting of T. Piriyah, Dipna Lim-Prasad, Goh Chui Ling and anchored by Shanti Pereira, the team clocked 3:40.58 to finish fourth out of the four teams. Their timing eclipses the 3:43.85 set by Glory Barnabas, Maimoon Azian, Lee Tai Jong and Chee Swee Lee at the Asian Games in 1974.
Vietnam took the gold in a new Games record of 3:31.46, finishing ahead of Thailand (3:36.82) and Malaysia (3:39.10).
The men's 4x400m quartet, made up of Tan Zong Yang, Kenneth Khoo, Seow Yeong Yang and Raymond Scott Lee, finished fifth out of five teams in their race. They clocked 3:17.44.
Thailand pipped the Philippines to the title in a photo finish, finishing in 3:06.81 to take gold. The Philippine team were second with 3:06.84. Vietnam was third with 3:08.48.
Singapore finished the penultimate day of the athletics competition with a silver won by pole vaulter Rachel Yang. She set a new national record of 3.90m en route to winning her silver, the first medal for Singapore in this event at the biennial Games.
Other Singaporean athletes in action on the last day of athletics on Friday include high jumper Michelle Sng and the men's 4x100m relay team.
