'LONG, AMAZING JOURNEY'

Lee eclipses women’s 5,000m record two weeks after Goh rewrote 1997 mark

- Kimberly Kwek

In pursuit of faster times, Vanessa Lee is willing to push her own boundaries.

After stopping weight training for nearly a decade as she dealt with body image issues and worried about appearing bulky, Lee began incorporating strength and conditioning into her routine again in 2024, with the use of a resistance band and her own body weight.

The 26-year-old may already be reaping the benefits. She claimed her second national record in nine weeks after clocking 17min 26.62sec in the women's 5,000m at the Malaysia Open Championships on June 16.

This was the second time that this mark had been lowered in two weeks.

Goh Chui Ling, 31, had registered 17:33.73 on June 5 to eclipse Yvonne Danson's 17.35.30, a standard that had stood for 27 years.

Lee said: "I want to improve and I don't want to be stuck here. There's only so far my body can take me and there's so many ways for me to improve strength training is definitely one thing I can work on.

"I see the improvement it's given me with my race timings. If this is what it takes to break records, then why not?"