Shanti Pereira has rewritten Singapore’s track and field history by becoming the first woman sprinter to win an athletics medal at the Asian Games since 1974.
That’s an almost 50-year wait.
At the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on 30 September, the double Asian Athletics champion in 100m and 200m brought Singaporean fans who tuned in to the final to their feet when she hit the tape in 11.27s.Her personal best and season’s best in the 100m this year had been 11.20s.
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China’s Ge Manqi picked up the gold in 11.23s while Bahrain’s Hajar Saad Saeed picked up the bronze in a time of 11.35s.
Pereira went into the finals at the sixth fastest qualifier on 29 September after finishiing her heats in 11.42s.
But after a stellar season in preparation for the Asian Games, she completed one part of her double mission by earning her first medal in the 100m, with her pet 200m still to come.
MAIN PHOTO: AFP/YAHOO