Singapore sprinter Shanti Pereira breaks 100m national record for second time in a month

SINGAPORE: Sprinter Shanti Pereira's stunning run of form continued as she set a new 100m national record at the Australia Open Track and Field Championships in Brisbane on Friday (Mar 31).

The Singaporean clocked a time of 11.38s to win her heat and eclipse her own national mark by 0.08s. She had set the previous time at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Wellington on Mar 3.

The result meant that Pereira topped the preliminaries and progressed to Saturday's semi-finals.

It also came less than a week after Pereira registered a new national record (23.16s) in the 200m final at the Brisbane Track Classic, where she finished third.

"(I) felt good going into the heats today - I think I knew I had a PB (personal best) in me," she told CNA. "But I just tried to focus on executing my race plan the best I could."

Pereira said her reaction at the start "wasn't great" but she didn't let it affect her race.

Last November, it was announced that the 26-year-old would be joining the Sports Excellence Scholarship programme, which supports athletes headed to major Games. She has been training full-time since January.

Pereira enjoyed a stellar 2022, winning gold and setting a national record in the 200m at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. She also clinched a silver in the 100m. Pereira would go on to lower that 200m record once more at the Commonwealth Games.

Among the competitions in the pipeline for Pereira this year are the SEA Games in May - where she is looking to retain her 200m crown - as well as the Asian Athletics Championships, World Athletics Championships and Asian Games.

"I'm honestly just happy to get the chance to compete healthy," she said.

"I'm just taking it all in, doing my thing and having fun."