Shannon Aims Higher After Breakthrough

Teen sprinter also credits coach Oh for helping her make waves at Asian meet

- Hana Chen

When she got her maiden national call-up in May, teenage sprinter Shannon Tan thought she would be heading to the Asian Athletics Championships just as a reserve.

But a surprise awaited her at the continental meet in South Korea. On the eve of the women's 4x100m relay final, the 15-year-old was told that she would be running alongside sprint queen Shanti Pereira, Elizabeth-Ann Tan and Laavina Jaiganth.

Clocking 44.66 seconds to finish fifth out of seven teams, the quartet set a national record at the Gumi Civic Stadium on May 31, eclipsing the previous mark of 44.96sec registered in 2017 by Pereira, Wendy Enn, Dipna Lim-Prasad and Nur Izlyn Zaini.

Being part of a record-setting team on the Asian stage was beyond the wildest imagination for Shannon, a Cedar Girls' Secondary School student who turns 16 in November.

"Being 16 years old and being able to run at a national level at such a major competition, it's like a dream that no one would ever think of," said the Secondary 4 student, who ran the first leg of the relay.

She was nearly overwhelmed with anxiety, but her jitters faded once she stepped onto the track.

It was the encouraging words of her school coach, Margaret Oh, which helped to steady her nerves.