Singaporean sprinter Shanti Pereira is the latest city-state athletic gem to break national track records.
The 26-year-old won both women’s 100m and 200m races and broke national records over the weekend at the Australian Open Track and Field Championships in Brisbane.
She is the first Singaporean woman to go under 23 seconds at 22.89s for the 200m race yesterday which overwritten her personal record of 23.16s at the Brisbane Track Classic last month.
The timing would have won Pereira gold medals at the last five Asian Games, according to Singapore Athletics.
Pereira also broke the national women’s 100m record twice in two days by clocking in at 11.38s on Friday and finishing first at 11.37s in the finals on Saturday. Australia’s Torrie Lewis and Bree Masters came in at 11.38s and 11.41s respectively.
She held the national record of 11.46s at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington last month.
Fellow Singaporean Elizabeth-Ann Tan who also took part in the races broke her personal best by clocking in at 24.23s during the 200m finals.
Pereira has been training as a full-time athlete since January under Singapore’s Sports Excellence Scholarship program which supports athletes competing in major competitions.
The SEA Games will commence on May 5 in Cambodia where Pereira is expected to snag the gold medals for track. She is also gearing up for the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok in July and the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September.
She previously won gold and set a national record in the 200m at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam.
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