Soh completes quadruple of national records for men's distance running
Image credit: @vroomshoots
Singapore national marathoner Soh Rui Yong has broken the men's 10 year-old 5,000m national record at Singapore Athletics' All Comers Meet on 17 July 2021, clocking 14min 44.21sec to eclipse the previous mark that was set by Mok Ying Ren (14:51.09sec) in Tokyo in 2011 at the Tokai University Time Trials.
In so doing, he became the first Singaporean male to complete a quadruple of national records: 2hrs 23min 42sec for the men's Full Marathon (Seoul, Korea 2019); 1hr 06min 41sec for the men's Half Marathon (Houston, USA 2019); 31min 15.95sec for the Men's 10,000m (Portland, USA in 2014); and 14min 44.21sec for the Men's 5,000m (Singapore, 2021).
When asked if there were other national records in his sights for the foreseeable future, Soh told SportPlus.SG that "5KM finishes the set for now."
Image credit: @vroomshoots
Soh had also qualified for the SEA Games earlier this year in Singapore Athletics' All Comers Meet 2 for the 1,500m event, clocking 4:05.19sec in what was his first track race in two years, a mark which he then lowered to 4:01sec last week for a new personal best.
The 29 year-old has turned his focus to track events this year, after almost quitting running altogether in the wake of the Corona virus global pandemic that devastated the sports industry and saw a cancellation of the majority of sports events, while making international travel and overseas training camps impossible.
Chasing the 10 year-old men's 5,000m national record at the Home of Athletics in Kallang last evening, Soh's training mates helped to set the pace, with Jeevaneesh S/O Soundararajah pacing Soh for the first 1,900m at the record pace of 71.28sec per lap, before Ethan Yan took over to bring it to 2,350m.
Soh would then run the remainder of the race alone, and crossed the 4,000m mark at 11:51. Needing a 74sec final lap to achieve his goal, he clocked 68.6sec to break the mark and complete a quadruple of national records for men's distance running.
Image credit: Chen Siyuan