Athletics at YOG (Day 2)

So Day 2 kicked off with the Boys Javelin Qualifications and there will also be events such as the 2000m Steeplechase for both Girls and Boys, not forgetting the highlight of day 2, the 100m dash. I was pretty disappointed as I was not really able to catch the events live. I was watching online but it kept buffering every 10seconds, making it difficult to watch. But nonetheless, I managed to get a glimpse of a few performances by the athletes.
It was a case of a fast track for the boys competing in the 2000m SC. This is evident from the fact that seven of them bettered their Personal Best timings during the qualifications. Having said that, I am sure we will see even better runs by this group in the next race.

Another surprising display was the Boys Javelin. 11 out of the 15 throwers threw PBs. The winner however did not achieve his personal best but managed to top the field with the distance of 77.27m on his last throw.

Singaporean Zachary Ryan Devaraj knew he needed to step up his game in this Youth Olympics. He was up against many fast athletes from countries such as Qatar and Ethopia. Despite being left behind by the leading pack, he managed to run a PB with a timing of 2min 32.27seconds.

Liang Wei was the next Singaporean youth put to the test in the 100m Girls qualifications. Her heat was disrupted due to a false start. However, Liang Wei had a powerful start of the blocks on the 2nd run. She had in fact, the fastest reaction time and managed to come in 4th in her heat with a timing of 12.79s which was slightly off her PB of 12.58s.

Next up was the Boys 100m. I got our very own Fastest Boy, Calvin Kang, to give me live updates from Bishan stadium as I gave up buffering from the online platform. Calvin was rather excited about the 100m as it was the event he had been running since a little boy. He gaves us his view on who to look out for in the 100m.

“Is he the next Usain Bolt?? Youngster Odane Skeen from the Jamaica has been the grapevine of this Youth Olympics. Turning 16 in 9 days time, this Jamaican is seeded as the fastest boy in the YOG. The 100m heats still continued despite the slight downpour. David Bolarinwa kick started the 100m heats with a time of 10.62sec and was the fastest overall. Odane on the other hand was not far off finishing top of his heat with a time of 10.63sec after facing 2 false starts. The Asians like the Japs and Thais were also on their game in their respective heats. Overall, the boys weren’t really pushing this was only the qualifications. Expect a fantastic final this Sat morning.”

This rounds up Day 2 of athletics at YOG. Many achieved PBs today. It could have been due to the weather. Whatever the case was, these athletes are really talented. We have much to learn from them.

Tomorrow's events promise to be as exciting, with the 200m sprint on show. Till then,

Written by: Shalindran
Edited by: Hakeem
Pictures: Calvin Kang