Sizzling On The Track

Singapore National Track and Field National Championships, National School Games (NSG) Cross Country Championships, New National Records


It has been an exhilarating March with back-to-back action for the Track and Field Academy. The action started at the Singapore National Track & Field Championships 2023 held over two weekends from 17 and 26 March 2023. Team Sports School amassed an impressive 40 medals at the event. They clinched 16 gold, 10 silver, and 14 bronze medals.

The Track and Field Academy was charged up to compete and several of them clocked new personal bests at the event. Among the podium finishers was Secondary 5 student-athlete Abdul Raqib Bin Abdul Razak. Abdul Raqib came in 2nd in the Under-18 110-Meter Hurdles after touching the finish line in 14.77s. He has been trying to break the 15-second barrier since 2021. Just last month, he completed the race in 15.19s at Singapore Athletics 2nd Allcomers Meet. He has been working hard towards his goal, and his efforts finally paid off at the Singapore National Track & Field Championships.

A student-athlete who was garlanded twice was Janelle Lum Wai Yan. Janelle won a gold and a silver in the Under-20 1500m and 800m race respectively. Janelle also participated in the NSG Cross Country Championships on 28 March. She crossed the finish line in 6th place with a timing of 15:40.3s. This is a significant improvement from her last cross-country race held on 25 February where she finished the race in 16:10.3s.

“This NSG cross country was a new experience for all of us. Racing on a terrain and a longer distance than what I was used to, forced me to break free from my comfort zone. This event felt more tactical than the track races I've run in the past, and following my coach's guidance, I managed to adopt a new mindset of remaining calm and focused during the race. Overall, I felt that my juniors and I really showed grit and resilience in this race, making this competition an especially meaningful experience,” shared Janelle.

Out of the 6 student-athletes who took part in the event, 3 of them came in the top 20. Besides Janelle, the other two student-athletes who made it to the top 20 are Naema Kyrana Abdullah and Muhammad Azim Ali.

Our alumnae also brought pride to Sports School by breaking national records. Veronica Shanti Pereira broke her own 100m national record at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington’s Newtown Park. A few weeks later, she rewrote her record twice at the Australian Open Track and Field Championships in the same event. She finished in 11.38s in the heats and shaved off a second to finish in 11.37s in the finals and won a gold medal. She also became the first Singaporean woman to go under 23 seconds in the 200m event, clocking 22.89s in the race to eclipse her own 23.16s national mark set at the Brisbane Track Classic on 25 March. With her recent results, Shanti is currently Asia’s No.1 in Women’s 100m and 200m.

Alumna Tia Rozario also rewrote her own outdoor triple jump record at the Raleigh Relays at the Paul Derr Track and Field Facility in North Carolina. She leapt 12.80m to finish 3rd in the event. This is the second time Tia has broken her own record in triple jump this year.