Story by Iman Hashim/Red Sports. Photos by Chua Kai Yun and Les Tan/Red Sports

ong sim hao

Ong Sim Hao of HCI equalled his personal best height of 2.03m to win his first ever National Schools gold. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

National Stadium, Friday, April 29, 2016 — Ong Sim Hao of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) came out on top in the A Division Boys’ high jump final at the 57th National Schools Track and Field Championships, equalling his personal best height of 2.03 metres.

Prior to the final, two jumpers were seen as the favourites for the gold – Sim Hao and Raffles Institution’s (RI) Bryan Wong. Sim Hao represented Team Singapore in the high jump at last year’s South-east Asian (SEA) Games, while Bryan is the current B Division record holder in the event with a 2.02m jump in 2014.

Midway through the final, it seemed as though Bryan would have the upper hand. After both jumpers had cleared 1.95m on their first attempt, Sim Hao failed on his first two attempts at clearing 1.99m, while Bryan cleared the height on his second try.

To much relief, Sim Hao then successfully cleared 1.99m on his last try. He then seized the momentum to clear 2.01m with his first attempt, while Bryan failed once at that height. Bryan then passed on his two remaining attempts at 2.01m, and the bar went up to 2.03m.

Eventually, Bryan failed with his two attempts at 2.03m, allowing Sim Hao to secure gold. Sim Hao then went on to clear 2.03m on his last try, and subsequently attempted to break the A Division record of 2.06m, held by St. Andrew’s Junior College alumnus – and current national record holder – Wong Yew Tong since 1989. He failed on all three tries at clearing 2.07m, but it did not matter.

It was arguably the most high-calibre high jump competition at national schools level. Sim Hao’s 2.03m clearance was the second best in championship history. Bryan came in second with a 1.99m clearance, while Sim Hao’s HCI teammate David Chung came in third with a personal best jump of 1.95m. RI’s Justin Lee (4th, 1.93m) and Anglo-Chinese Junior College’s Wong Kar Fai (5th, 1.87m) also achieved PBs. Bryan, David, Justin and Kar Fai set championship bests for second, third, fourth and fifth positions.

This was the first time that Sim Hao has gotten the better of Bryan in the annual national schools championships. Last year, in the A Division, both jumpers cleared 1.95m, with Bryan winning the gold on countback.

In the B Division two years ago, Bryan won with the championship record of 2.02m, while Sim Hao came in second with 1.92m. The previous year, Bryan came in third (1.80m) in the B Division while Sim Hao was sixth (1.76m). In 2012, Bryan won the C Division event with a 1.70m clearance, with Sim Hao in second (1.58m).

On his first ever National Schools gold medal, Sim Hao said, “I’m very happy, since it’s the first time I’ve won gold in six years; I’ve always lost to Bryan. I’m just thankful for my coach, Ms Chan See Huey, and my teammates for their support.”

When asked about his rivalry with Bryan, Sim Hao added, “It’s a friendly rivalry, so I always try to compete with him, try to be as good as him. I think since both of us are Team Singapore, what matters is that we compete with other countries instead of competing amongst ourselves. But a bit of friendly competition is good for the both of us.”

Meanwhile, Bryan understandably could not hide his disappointment. “I guess to be honest I’m quite disappointed with myself but with that being said, I also came back from several injuries last year so I really fell behind in training. However, my priority this year wasn’t to win the individual medal but to win the overall title – and we did it, so I guess it’s give and take. Life is fair,” said the RI track and field team captain.

RI eventually won the A boys’ divisional title, beating HCI by 34 points.

“Moving forward, I guess I can only train harder to catch up but all this has to come after my A levels which is more crucial and then NS after that; it really depends when I’ll be back again but I’m sure I’ll still continue in the future,” Bryan continued.

Also acknowledging his friendly rivalry with Sim Hao, he added, “I guess it’s been really nice competing with him for 6 years, and he really deserved the win this time after working hard for so long. So congrats to him on his first gold, and I will be looking forward to more competitions with him.”

A Division Boys’ High Jump – Top 8
1st Ong Sim Hao (#263, Hwa Chong Institution) — 2.03 metres
2nd Bryan Wong Jingkai (#155, Raffles Institution) — 1.99
3rd David Chung Kai Hern (#246, Hwa Chong Institution) — 1.95
4th Justin Lee Wen Jian (#137, Raffles Institution) — 1.93
5th Wong Kar Fai (#237, Anglo-Chinese Junior College) — 1.87
6th Jude Tan Choon Jek (#199, Victoria Junior College) — 1.84
7th Thung You Xuan (#273, Hwa Chong Institution) — 1.81
8th Chen Jinyi (#214, Victoria School) — 1.70

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