A Div 110m Hurdles: Fabian Lew of RI earns gold in 15.36s

By Tay Jun Wen/Red Sports

Fabian Lew (#136) of RI was first in 15.36s. Low Ziron (#283, extreme left) of HCI finished second in 15.68s while teammate Jonathan Goh (#271, second from right) was third in 15.73s. Ignatius Tan of CJC, who qualified second fastest in the heats, took a tumble but he still picked himself up to finish the race. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Sports Complex, Thursday, April 11, 2013 — Fabian Lew of Raffles Institution (RI) clinched the A Division 110 metres hurdles gold at the 54th National Schools Track and Field Championships. Fabian’s winning time was 15.36 seconds.

Low Ziron and Jonathan Goh, both of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), came in second and third respectively. Ziron took silver with 15.68s while Jonathan clocked 15.73s to win a bronze.

The A Division electronically-timed record of 14.46s was set by Ang Chen Xiang, then of RI, in 2011. Abdul Hakeem Bin Abdul Halim set a similar hand-timed record in 2005 when he was in Raffles Junior College.

With this race potentially his last, Fabian wanted to do his best.

“Everybody ran well and it was quite a close race. I tried my best and really controlled my nerves well,” Fabian said.

Ziron of HCI had a new personal best in this race. “I have never been below 16 seconds,” said Ziron. He also said that it was a good thing that his teammates were not in adjacent lanes and the competition from other schools helped to push him.

“Having competitors from other schools beside me really made me push myself. It was a very close race. I could improve more on the technique of my jump. The run-up was good though,” Ziron commented.

His teammate Jonathan found this race to be nerve-wracking. Disqualified last year for false starting, he saw this race as a comeback race for him.

Jonathan said: “There were a lot of noise distractions like the sound of people clipping the hurdles. I had to keep my eyes ahead. Though Lane 4 (Fabian’s lane) was the fastest runner, I did not try to catch him and jump early. I managed to stay focused.”

Jonathan remarked that since it was a new hurdle height for him, he needed to focus more on his leaping and ensuring that his leg came down faster.

However, it was a disappointing race for Ignatius Tan of Catholic Junior College. Initially, he was just trailing Fabian by a little. However, nearing his last few hurdles, Ignatius mistimed a jump and he went down. He picked himself up to finish eighth in 19.56s.

Fabian felt sad for Ignatius. “He was a potential medalist,” said Fabian. Earlier in the morning, Ignatius was the second fastest qualifier in the heats with a 16.12s timing.

A disappointed Ignatius said: “I could have done better. It all went down in that less than a second of lost focus. Since I came in second for heats with 16.12s without giving my all, I felt that I had a chance and would do a lot better in the final. But during my practicing in the afternoon for the final, I felt a little off. My start was demoralising. I could usually burst forward quickly and keep the momentum going. I tried to chase up but I eventually lost focus.”

“Even so, I have a lot of respect and would really like to congratulate all my opponents. Just wished that I would be able to give them a good run for their money,” Ignatius added.

A Division Boys 110m Hurdles Results
1st Lew Bi Yang Fabian (Raffles Institution, #136) — 15.36s
2nd Low Ziron (Hwa Chong Institution, #283) — 15.68s
3rd Goh Jie Yong Jonathan (Hwa Chong Institution, #271) — 15.73s
4th Nicholas Lee Zhao An (Anglo-Chinese Junior College, #251) — 15.77s
5th Wong Zhan Yuen (Tampines Junior College, #204) — 16.68s
6th Loh Yin Shi Mark (Hwa Chong Institution, #281) — 16.75s
7th Eric Yun Yao (Raffles Institution, #127) — 18.39s
8th Ignatius Tan Wei Ren (Catholic Junior College, #89) — 19.56s