Shanti Pereira breaks her own women's 100m national record with 11.46sec run
Sprinter reaping instant reward after beginning to train full-time in January, eyeing more glory at upcoming SEA Games
SINGAPORE — Sprinter Shanti Pereira has rewritten her own national women's 100m record at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships heats on Friday (3 March), clocking 11.46 seconds to lower her previous mark by 0.02sec.
The 26-year-old, who has had a stellar 2022 in winning her second SEA Games 200m gold, improved on her previous national mark set at last August's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Racing in her first meet of the year, Pereira actually ran even faster in the final in Wellington's Newtown Park. However, her 11.44sec effort - which placed her third - was not registered as a national mark owing to strong tailwind of 3.3m/s. Only races within 2.0 m/s and below are considered for national records.
New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs was first in the race in 10.89sec, while compatriot Rosie Elliott clocked 11.36 sec to finish second.
Began training full-time since January
Pereira is currently on a month-long training camp in New Zealand, after she began to train full-time in January. Last November, Sport Singapore announced that she had joined the Sport Excellence (Spex) Scholarship programme, which provides financial and other support for elite athletes.
She told The Straits Times, "I'm glad to be given this opportunity to train full time. It helps me a lot in terms of training and eventual competition because it really has improved my focus, and I am able to have much better recovery.
“This was my first race of the year and my expectations were to execute the techniques as well as possible. Based on training, I knew I was in a good shape.”
Pereira will be aiming to retain her women's 200m gold and improve on her 100m silver-medal showing at the upcoming SEA Games in Cambodia. She is also preparing for other major events such as July's Asian Athletics Championships in Pattaya, August's World Athletics Championships in Budapest, and September's Asian Games in Hangzhou.
She will next compete at the Sydney Track Classic on 11 March.
Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
