Joanna Chng of Raffles Institution glides to A Division girls’ 100m win

Story by REDintern Colin Tung. Pictures by Leslie Tan and Marvin Lowe/Red Sports.

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Thursday, April 23, 2009 – Joanna Chng of Raffles Institution powered home as the A Division 100m champion in a time of 12.51 seconds. She beat Chong Jia Yuan of Hwa Chong Institution in a replay of their 2008 100m final duel to make her the fastest schoolgirl in Singapore. Joanna’s time was 0.35s faster than her winning time last year.

Jia Yuan disappointingly played the bridesmaid yet again with a time of 12.68s. In third was Melissa Fok of Temaek Junior College with a time of 13.00s.

Joanna Chng delivered a performance reminiscent of former 100m Olympic champion and 100m hurdles World Champion, Gail Devers, with her pint-sized frame and fleet-footed, powerful running form bringing to mind images of the American track legend.

She shared regarding her victory: “I was quite confident of winning but I knew it wasn’t a guarantee with Jia Yuan going up against me yet again.”

Jia Yuan had earlier in the championships got one over Joanna in the 200m when they finished second and third respectively. Joanna had entered the 200m as the defending champion and she related her feelings about that race on the back of retaining her 100m title.

She said: “It makes up for my loss in the 200m. The 100m possesses more sentimental value to me as I am stronger in it and I have won it more times than in the 200m.”

The latest 100m victory is the third consecutive year that she has won the event in her division. The first of those wins had come when she was running for Nanyang Girls’ High in the B Division.

Across the same division in the boys’ race, Loo Yi Hao led a 1-2 finish for Victoria Junior College in a time of 11.05s with Yang Jieyu second in 11.24s. Ko Teck Ee of Anglo-Chinese Junior College edged Jason Tan of National Junior College for the bronze medal in a photo-finish after both of them finished in an identical time of 11.27s.

In the B Division girls’ 100m race, Liang Wei of the Singapore Sports School won comfortably after pulling away from the field at the 70m mark. Habibah Najihahbi Binte Ahmad trailed her past the finish line to make it a Sports School 1-2 in a time of 12.90s with Sarah Lee of Nanyang Girls’ High rounding off the top-three in 13.17s.

Liang Wei had missed last year’s championships when she went to take part in the International Children’s Games and this was her first time competing in the 100m and 200m at the inter-school championships.

“I am proud of myself and I would like to thank my coach Mr Pedro Acuna,” she said.

The B Division boys’ race saw the electronically-timed championship record of 10.97s fall to Shahrir Mohd Anuar of the Singapore Sports School when he stopped the clock at 10.90s. He dethroned the 2008 100m B Division boys’ champion Aaron Foo, of Seng Kang Secondary, who clocked 11.11s. (For more on that race, please go to: Read Shahrir Mohd Anuar of Sports School breaks B Division boys' 100m record)

In the C Division girls’ race, Eugenia Tan of the Singapore Sports School – the tallest girl in the field of runners – was the only girl under 13s in winning the 100m. She clocked 12.89s as Elizabeth Ong of Raffles Girls’ School and Ruelia Nesaranjii of North View Secondary took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Ruelia was only one of two female representatives from North View.

After one false start in the C boys’ race, Prince Lau of Victoria School secured his second gold of the championships with a time of 11.66s. Sheikh Muhammad of Temasek Secondary, in finishing second, prevented a Victoria School 1-2 with Prince’s team-mate Timothy Tay just 0.05s behind him in 12.00s.

Results (Top-Eight Only)

100m

C Division Boys
1. Prince Leleon Lau Victoria School 11.66s
2. Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ismail Temasek Secondary 11.95s
3. Timothy Tay Zhi Wei Victoria School 12.00s
4. Wayne Yap Wen Xuan Catholic High 12.04s
5. Koh Fang Hua Dunman High School 12.23s
6. Eugene Lim Kai Jie Ang Mo Kio Secondary 12.25s
7. Sebestian Tang Hong Yi Singapore Sports School 12.42s
DSQ – Chua Heng Quan Fairfield Methodist School

B Division Boys
1. Shahrir Mohd Anuar Singapore Sports School 10.90s (New Record)
2. Aaron Foo Seng Kang Secondary 11.11s
3. Khairyll Amri Bin Tumadi Temasek Secondary 11.15s
4. Tan Zong Yang St. Joseph’s Institution 11.35s
5. Chan Zhiyuan Donovan Hwa Chong Institution 11.37s
6. Muhammad Haikal Seng Kang Secondary 11.47s
7. Calvin Khor Zhi Sheng Raffles Institution 11.49s
8. Pang Yao Yi St. Joseph’s Institution 11.50s

A Division Boys
1. Loo Yi Hao Victoria Junior College 11.05s
2. Yang Jieyu Victoria Junior College 11.24s
3. Ko Teck Ee Anglo-Chinese Junior College 11.27s
4. Jason Tan Wei Jie National Junior College 11.27s
5. Jerome Mao Youming Catholic Junior College 11.30s
6. Ng Ka Shing Anderson Junior College 11.37s
7. Joel Wei Mao Jie Anglo-Chinese Junior College 11.41s
8. Aaron Koh Huan Yu Raffles Institution 11.49s

C Division Girls
1. Eugenia Tan Singapore Sports School 12.89s
2. Elizabeth Jane Ong Chu Yi Raffles Girls’ School 13.18s
3. Ruelia Nesaranjini D/O R R North View Secondary 13.34s
4. Goh Hui Yu Lynette Singapore Sports School 13.43s
5. Nurul Sakinah Binte Razali Singapore Sports School 13.46s
6. Ang Jia Yun Nanyang Girls’ High 13.47s
7. Jannah Wong Min CHIJ Katong Convent 13.56s
8. Magdalene Ho Yan Yoong Nanyang Girls’ High 13.56s

B Division Girls
1. Liang Wei Singapore Sports School 12.56s
2. Habibah Najihahbi Binte Ahmad Singapore Sports School 12.90s
3. Sarah Lee Mei En Nanyang Girls’ High 13.17s
4. Lee Xue Ngoh Noelle Tanglin Secondary 13.20s
5. Ko Shi Min Sharon Dunman High School 13.46s
6. Natalie Lee Mei Ying Ang Mo Kio Secondary 13.50s
7. Fatin Nazirah Binte Mohd Ali Singapore Sports School 13.56s
8. Teo Yee Yin Sherilyn CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School 13.58s

A Division Girls
1. Joanna Chng Raffles Institution 12.51s
2. Chong Jia Yuan Hwa Chong Institution 12.68s
3. Fok Yan Ting Melissa Temasek Junior College 13.00s
4. Lee Jia Wen Hwa Chong Institution 13.11s
5. Grace Ng Victoria Junior College 13.20s
6. Tan Shi Ying Victoria Junior College 13.32s
7. Tyanne Choo Anglo-Chinese Junior College 13.47s
8. Samantha Ong May Yen Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School 13.69s

For full results, please refer to www.schoolsports.sg.

Related Stories
Soh Rui Yong of Raffles Institution adds 5000m title to cross-country crown
What’s gone and what’s on at the National Inter-School Track-and-Field Championships 2009
Soh Hua Qun and Zachary Devaraj win respective divisional 800m races but sub-2 min eludes them
Soh easy for Raffles Institution as they add 3000m steeplechase podium sweep to the one in the 5000m
Mok Ying Rong wins 3000m B girls’ title at her first appearance in the National Inter-School Track-and-Field Championships
Muhd Taufiq leaves it late to clinch B division boys’ triple jump crown
Inez Leong sets new record in the B division girls’ 100m hurdles final
T. Haarishankar of Singapore Sports School claims second gold in B Division boys' 3000m
Ranjitha Raja of Anderson beats Mok Ying Rong in B Division 1500m
Final day preview of Inter-School Track and Field Championships
Shahrir Mohd Anuar of Sports School breaks B Division boys' 100m record
Berenice Lian of RGS holds off Clara Poon of Cedar Girls' for B Division 800m win
Superman Adriel Tay lands 1500m win in third Raffles Institution podium sweep

For more pictures, go to the gallery.