Australia: Shanti Pereira stunned Singapore as she broke national records three times in 3 days during the Australian Open Track and Field Championships in Brisbane. She became the first and only Southeast Asian Woman to have broken the seemingly impossible 23 seconds barrier for the 200m race and achieved a mind-boggling timing of 22.89s.
She also broke the national record for the Women’s 100m race twice over the weekend. She won a gold medal and eclipsed her timing from the heats with a new national record of 11.37s at the finals. She is now officially the fastest Southeast Asian Woman for the 100m and 200m.
A month ago, she became the first Singaporean to be ranked No. 1 in the World Athletics’ women’s 100m outdoor rankings for Asia. Shanti first broke the national 100m record when she was 16. She’s had her ups and downs since then, making her a Singapore hero even more. She’s also the first Singapore woman to go under 23 seconds in the event.
Now at 26, she shows what guts and persistence are about. As she said, “Just continue growing into it because, ultimately, it is your journey. If anyone can determine how it turns out, it is you.”
The Sports Excellence (Spex) Scholarship programme, which provides financial and other support to help athletes prepare for the central Games, helps. Shanti joined the programme last November, allowing her to train full-time.
Team Singapore results from Day 4 of the Australian Open Track and Field Championships:
Women’s 200m Preliminaries
Elizabeth-Ann Tan – 24.23s (+1.9 m/s) Heat 2 Pos 7/9 SG #2 All-Time
Shanti Pereira – 22.89s (+1.9 m/s) Heat 2 Pos 1/9 SEA #1 All-time
Men’s 200m Preliminaries
Reuben Lee – 21.47s (+2.2 m/s) Heat 2 Pos 5/7
Men’s 400m Hurdles Final
Calvin Quek – 51.34s Pos 3/7 2nd fastest timing in SG history
Men’s Pole Vault Preliminaries
Dewey Ng – 4.80m Q
Men’s 4x400m Finals
Calvin, Reuben, Zubin, Thiruben – 3:14.19 Pos 5/7
