Story by Zachary Foo/Red Sports. Photos by Rebekah Abbott/Red Sports
With a timing of 11:58.50, Ruth Kang (#377) of Nanyang Girls’ High was crowned champion of the C division Girls’ 3000m race. (Photo 1 © Rebekah Abbott/Red Sports)
Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Monday, April 7, 2014 — Ruth Kang of Nanyang Girls’ won the C Division Girls’ 3000m at the 55th National Track and Field Championships in a time of 11 minutes 58.50 seconds.
Elaine Quah of Raffles Girls School (Secondary), the National Inter-School cross country C girls’ individual champion, finished in second place with a time of 12:04.39, while Mariviv Tan of Guangyang Secondary was third in 12:20.17.
In the first lap, Elaine was ahead of the rest of the field by about four to five paces. She would maintain this lead until the final lap, when Ruth suddenly kicked with about 200 metres to go. Ruth was able to overtake Elaine around the final bend, eventually beating her by almost six seconds.
“This win was really unexpected,” said Ruth after her win. “I wanted to just chase Elaine down at the last lap, but I did not expect to pull it off. This was my first time competing in the 3000m and I think I set a personal best as well. I would like to thank Ms Tan, my parents and everyone who encouraged me.”
Ruth has also qualified for the 1500m final on Friday, April 11th, but that will not be the end of her school sports season yet.
The Secondary One student will also take part in the National Inter-School swimming championships, and is slated to swim the 200m individual medley and 200m breaststroke heats on April 15th and 16th respectively.
The last time a Secondary One student won the C girls’ 3000m title was in 2007, when Ranjitha Raja, then of Anderson Secondary, pulled off the feat.
Elaine said: “The race was very tiring. I planned to run at my own pace regardless of what placing I finished. This is my first time competing at the track, as my only prior experience was at the 55th National Inter-School Cross Country Championships. I wanted to thank my friends and teachers for giving me support. I would also like to thank my coach, who gave me a lot of advice and was very supportive.”
With Elaine finishing as runner-up, the streak of National Inter-School cross country C girls’ individual winners not being able to replicate their success at the two distance events – the 1500m and 3000m – at the Schools’ track and field championships has now been extended to 13 years.
C Div 3000m (Girls) Results (Top 10)
1st Kang Yunru, Ruth (#377, Nanyang Girls’ High School) – 11:58.50
2nd Quah Li Ying Elaine (#218, Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)) – 12:04.39
3rd Tan Mariviv (#191, Guangyang Secondary) – 12:20.17
4th Joyceleen Yap Yin Xiu (#149, Cedar Girls’ Secondary School) – 12:27.71
5th Wu Jia Yi, Elise (#48, CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’) – 12:38.80
6th Chua Hsi-Ern Caylee (#175, 12:54.14 Crescent Girls’ School) – 12:54.14
7th Lim Su Ann (#156, Cedar Girls’ Secondary School) – 13:05.64
8th Lim Xin Hui (#216, Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) – 13:07.53
9th Keh Chin Yip (#74, North Vista Secondary School) – 13:24.71
10th Chan Jing Xuan (#171, Crescent Girls’ School) – 13:33.00
Video © SAA. Used with permission.
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