Story by Edina Tan/Red Sports. Photos by Les Tan/Red Sports.

a div boys 5000m walk

Chua Ming (#245, HCI) won gold in 25:54.83. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Bishan Stadium, Friday, April 22, 2016 – Chua Ming of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) came in far ahead of the competition and took home the A Division 5000m Walk gold at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships with a timing of 25 minutes 54.83 seconds.

The electronically-timed record for this event still stands at 25:12.50s, set by HCI alumnus Joel Koh Zhi Xuan in 2015.

Rainer Yeo and Seah Kia Luck came in second and third with timings of 28:12.42 and 28:12.52 respectively, completing the podium sweep for Hwa Chong Institution.

The walkers were scattered the moment the race started, with Dominic Norris of Raffles Institution taking the lead. He maintained the lead up to the second round, when he was overtaken by Chua Ming who sped up and pulled away from the rest of the competition.

With nine rounds left, Chua Ming was firmly established in the lead, followed by Rainer and Kia Luck who were racing side by side a distance behind.

Throughout the whole race, the gap between Chua Ming and the rest of the walkers steadily increased. By the last round, Chua Ming was about 300 metres ahead of the next walker, and he finished in a comfortable first.

Rainer and Seah raced neck and neck throughout the race, and the duo ultimately finished within 0.10s of each other to complete HCI’s domination of the podium.

When asked about the race, Chua Ming said, “This wasn’t my best timing. I did faster timings during series and training. The judges were strict and every time I sped up, they gave me a card so I just maintained a steady pace throughout. I initially was aiming for the record, but did not want to risk disqualification as it was not worth it.”

“I want to thank my coach, Coach Chu, as well as my parents and teammates for this win,” he added.

A Div 5000m Walk (Boys) Results (Top 10)

1st Chua Ming (#245, HCI) – 25:54.83
2nd Rainer Yeo Yu Ming (#266, HCI) – 28:12.42
3rd Seah Kia Luck (#268, HCI) – 28:12.52
4th Lee Zhi Yuan (#138, RI) – 29:03.62
5th Dominic Norris Hu (#127, RI) – 29.26.39
6th Yuvraj Chauhan (#156, RI) – 30:11.84
7th Juay Jin Min (#20, SRJC) – 31:58.47
8th Dominic Doel Soh Jun Wei (#77, CJC) – 32:01.30
9th Ng Teng Han (#84, CJC) – 32:35.76
10th Teng Xiang Zhe (#114, NJC) – 34:44.71

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