'I had goosebumps': Supporters show up at Changi Airport to welcome sprinter Shanti Pereira
The Singapore sprint queen won the 200m gold and the 100m silver in Hangzhou.
Shanti Pereira poses with her Asian Games medals on her return to Singapore on Oct 5, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: Eight-year-old Otto Doehling jumped out of bed when his alarm rang on Thursday (Oct 5) morning.
First, he had to go to school, but the main event of his day came after - he was going to the airport to welcome Team Singapore members home, including his father, assistant general manager of Singapore Athletics and Asian Games champion Shanti Pereira.
He and his mother, Trudy Fawcett, were among the 50 supporters, family and friends who showed up to receive the sprint queen, who won the 200m gold and the 100m silver in Hangzhou.
"I couldn't really sleep because we watched it in the night," said Otto of Monday's race. Ms Fawcett said Otto stayed up past his usual bedtime of 7.30pm to catch the race. On their reaction to her victory, Ms Fawcett said: "Wow, she did it!"
Pereira’s godmother told CNA she had goosebumps watching the race on Monday.
“I think she knew she would win, and she did,” said Lucy Shaw, 67.
Mr Jason Wong, vice president of Singapore Athletics for competitions, said he was fortunate to witness the historic moment.
“This is something proud for the whole entire Singapore and for the fraternity,” he said.
Other supporters found out about Pereira’s return by chance when passing by the arrival gate or on social media.
Secondary school student Shawn Miranda, 14, was eating at McDonalds with his friends after their end-of-year examinations when one of them saw a TikTok video about Pereira.
For Shawn, it would be his second time meeting the sprinter.
“Seven years ago, I met Shanti at my school sports day carnival and I was inspired by her story,” said Shawn, who used to be a sprinter but is now a dragonboater.
He and his friends quickly finished their food, hurried over and waited for media interviews to be over before getting a picture with her.
“It’s a lot,” Pereira said of the reception she received at the airport. “It’s really nice to see everyone really excited, a lot of my family members are here as well, so very nice warm welcome back home.”
She said she hoped her story could inspire athletes from every sport.
“I didn’t give up because I knew this is what I wanted to do, so if anyone else is feeling the same way as me, I say go for it, don’t be afraid to dream big.
“It doesn't have to be a scary thing, but you definitely do have to put in your hard work and sacrifice a lot of things to reach that goal and get what you want,” she said.
Pereira added that there are a lot of things to work on and she will get back to general preparation next month, but the first thing on the agenda is rest and recovery.
“I’m going on holiday tomorrow, so I am excited for that. Excited to rest and reflect on what a great year it has been.”
