WINNERS INSPIRED BY SHANTI AND MARC

S’pore sprinters’ feats spur SSP’s Audrey and ACS(I)’s Harry to retain NSG titles

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Going into this season's National School Games (NSG), Audrey Koh was looking to retain her A Division girls' 400m title. But by her own admission, the Singapore Sports School (SSP) student was not in the best of form.

While seeking to rise above herself, she found inspiration in the form of a famous SSP alumna sprint queen Shanti Pereira.

The national 100m, 200m and 400m record holder's well-told story of how she overcame the lows in her career to reach the highs of Asian Games glory pushed Audrey to train harder and think positively.

On April 12 at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium, where it rained all morning, the bespectacled Audrey retained her title in emphatic fashion despite the wet conditions.

The 18-year-old, who is in the final year of her International Baccalaureate diploma programme, finished first in a personal-best Imin 00.33sec, more than three seconds ahead of Catholic Junior College's Charlotte Li (1:03.66) and Isabel Toh of Victoria Junior College (1:03.73).