Shanti Pereira, known as one of the fastest sprinters in Singapore, recently won silver in the women’s 100m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
The athlete, who was the reigning champion in both the 100m and 200m events, finished the race with a final time of 11.41 seconds to be in second place. Chinese athlete Liang Xiaojing won the gold with a final time of 11.37 seconds, while Vietnam’s Tran Thi Nhi Yen took bronze in place with 11.54 seconds.
Pereira was happy with how the race turned out, despite having a slow start and suddenly picking up her speed to catch up and finish behind Liang Xiaojing. She expressed, “(I) didn’t get the start I wanted, but I stuck to my race plan and came away with a silver that wasn’t too far away from gold. Couldn’t be happier!”
The sprinter added: “As always, the Asian Championships bring tough competition, but I showed up as a medal contender and made sure I fought to the finish, which is exactly what I did, and earned ourselves yet another Asian podium! That’s amazing to say.”
Now, she has made it to the finals after a strong performance in her heats. Pereira finished second overall with her best time of the season being 11.40 seconds. Only Xiaojing ran faster, leading the heats with a time of 11.22 seconds.
In a social media post, Singapore Athletics shared, “It’s that familiar feeling again. Singapore’s Sprint Queen lights up the continent ⚡️”
Netizens commented on the post and one remarked, “Inspiring comeback from a bad injury. 👏👏”, Another even called her the “Queen of Speed!🔥”
Pereira’s sprinting records
Shanti Pereira made headlines by achieving a historic sprint double at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships, where she won both the 100m and 200m races.
In the 100m, Pereira finished with a final time of 11.20 seconds to win the gold medal. This run was her first Asian title in the event, and it also set a new Singapore national record, which still stands today. Iran’s Farzaneh Fasihi was the athlete who took silver with 11.39 seconds, and China’s Ge Manqi took bronze with a time of 11.40 seconds.
Pereira then returned to the track for the 200m final and claimed victory with 22.70 seconds, where she also set a new championship meet record. Jyothi Yarraji from India finished second in 23.13 seconds, while Li Yuting of China won bronze in 23.25 seconds.
In the early months of last year’s season, Shanti Pereira spent two months training in Florida, but a stress injury in her fibula forced her to miss several important competitions, such as her planned Diamond League debuts in Xiamen and Shanghai. She also missed two major meets in Japan. This injury also disrupted her preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Moreover, Shanti Pereira was unable to advance beyond the heats in both the 100m and 200m categories in her second Olympic appearance. Pereira ran 23.21 seconds in the 200m event, which she followed with a time of 23.45 seconds in the repechage round. She fell short both times, her national record being 22.57 seconds. In the 100m, she placed 55th out of 72 athletes with a time of 11.63 seconds, failing to advance to the next round.
