Shanti Pereira

Shanti Pereira
Pereira after winning the 200 m at the 2023 SEA Games
Personal information
Born (1996-09-20) 20 September 1996 (age 28)
Singapore[1]
EducationSingapore Management University
Height1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)[2]
Weight54 kg (119 lb)[2]
Sport
CountrySingapore
SportAthletics
Event(s)100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100 m, 4 x 400 m
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking
  • 100 m: 32nd (2023)
  • 200 m: 20th (2023)
Personal bests
  • 60 m (Indoor): 7.61s (NR)
  • 100 m: 11.20s (NR)
  • 200 m: 22.57s (NR)
  • 400 m: 53.67s (NR)
Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing  Singapore
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou 100 m
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Bangkok 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Bangkok 200 m
SEA Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Singapore 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2021 Vietnam 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Cambodia 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2023 Cambodia 200 m
Silver medal – second place 2021 Vietnam 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Singapore 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Kuala Lumpur 100 m
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Kuala Lumpur 200 m
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Philippines 200 m
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Philippines 100 m
ASEAN University Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Naypyidaw 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Naypyidaw 200 m

Veronica Shanti Pereira (born 20 September 1996)[3] is a Singaporean track and field athlete who specialises in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 x 100 m, and 4 x 400 m. She holds the 100 m national record (11.20s),[4] 200 m national record (22.57s),[5] 400 m national record (53.67s),[6] 200 m SEA Games record (22.69s),[7] and the 200 m Asian Athletics Championships games record (22.70s).[8] She was ranked 1st in Asia in 2023 for both the 100 m and 200 m based on World Athletics' records.[9]

Education

[edit]

Pereira was introduced to track and field when she was in Primary Three at CHIJ (Katong) Primary,[10] after watching her elder sister compete in a school race.[11] She subsequently enrolled in Singapore Sports School, where she led them to the C Division team championship at the National School Games.[11] Pereira then studied for a diploma in sports and leisure management offered jointly by Republic Polytechnic and Singapore Sports School.[12] In 2017, she was awarded the Yip Pin Xiu Scholarship to study accountancy at Singapore Management University.[13] In 2018, she lost the scholarship, being unable to keep the minimum GPA requirements.[14] Pereira eventually graduated in 2021.[15]

Running career

[edit]

Youth

[edit]

Pereira set a number of records in her youth. She holds the U-23 records for the 100 m (11.80s) and 200 m (23.99s) and was a member of the teams which set the records for the 4 x 100 m (46.64s) and 4 x 400 m (3:44.80) relays; the U-19 records for the 100 m (11.89s) and 200 m (23.99s); the U-17 records for the 100 m (12.21s) and 200 m (24.92s); and U-15 records for the 100 m (12.68s).[16]

In 2013, Pereira became the first female Singaporean to run the 100 m in under 12 seconds when she clocked 11.89s at the 2013 World Youth Championships in Athletics in Donetsk, Ukraine.[2] At the 2013 Southeast Asian Games, she came in fourth in the 100 m final.[17] In 2014, she became the first female Singaporean to run the 200 m in under 24 seconds when she clocked 23.99s at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships.[18]

2015–2022: SEA Games success

[edit]
Pereira in the 100 metres final at the 2015 SEA Games, in which she won the bronze medal
Pereira in the 200 metres final at the 2015 SEA Games, in which she won the gold medal and rewrote her national record

At the 2015 Southeast Asian Games, Pereira won the bronze medal in the 100 m with a time of 11.88s, Singapore's first medal in the event in 42 years.[19] She also won the gold medal in the 200 m with a time of 23.60s, rewriting the national record she had set in the day's heats (23.82s);[20] this was Singapore's first gold medal in a sprint event in the SEA Games in 42 years.[21] Although the Singapore quartet which she was part of came in fourth in the 4 x 400 m relay, it broke the oldest record in Singapore's athletics history with a time of 3:40.58.[22] In her final event, the 4 x 100 m relay, the team came in fourth, but set a new national record of 45.41s.[23] At the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, Pereira won the bronze medal in both the 100 m and 200 m; she repeated this double at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.[24]

In 2021, Pereira qualified for the 200 m in the 2020 Summer Olympics through universality places.[25] She finished 6th in her heat with a season-best time of 23.96s.[26] At the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, Pereira won the gold medal at the 200 m with a time of 23.52s, rewriting the national record she had set in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.[27] In the 100 m, she won the silver medal, clocking 11.62s.[28]

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Pereira clocked 11.48s in the 100 m heats, breaking her previous record of 11.58s set in 2019.[29] However, her time of 11.57s in the next round was unable to earn her qualification for the final.[30] In the 200 m, she also broke her previous record with a time of 23.46s.[31] She clocked the same time in the semifinal, placing 11th overall among 24 runners. In October 2022, Sport Singapore announced that Pereira was one of seven athletes who had joined the 2022 Sport Excellence (Spex) Scholarship programme; she was previously a Spex scholar between 2016 and 2018.[32] She had lost the Spex scholarship in 2018 as she was unable to medal at the 2018 Asian Games.[14]

2023: breaking records

[edit]

2023 was a watershed year for Pereira. On 3 March, she clocked 11.46s in the 100 m heats of the New Zealand Track and Field Championships to rewrite her national mark.[33] While she ran 11.44s to win the bronze in the final, this was not recognised as a record due to the strong tailwind (3.4 m/s).[33] On 25 March, she clocked 23.16s to break her 200 m national record after finishing third at the Brisbane Track Class.[34] On 31 March, she rewrote her 100 m national record after running 11.38s at the Australia Open; she lowered the mark to 11.37s when she won the final the next day.[35] On 2 April, she ran 22.89s in the 200 m at the same meet, rewriting her national mark yet again and becoming the first Singaporean woman to run under 23s.[36] 2023 was also the year Pereira became the first Singaporean to top World Athletics' women's 100 m outdoor rankings in Asia.[37]

At the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Pereira successfully defended her 200 m title; her time of 22.69s not only rewrote the Singapore record, but the SEA Games record as well.[7] She also won the 100 m, becoming the first Singaporean woman to win the sprint double at the SEA Games.[38] In the same month, she ran 11.34s and 11.26s in the heats and final respectively at the International Pentecost Sports Meeting in Rehlingen, rewriting her national mark twice in the same day and setting a Southeast Asian best.[39]

2023 Asian Athletics Championships

[edit]

On 14 July, Pereira won the 100 m at the Asian Athletics Championships with a time of 11.20s, rewriting her national record for the sixth time in 2023[40] and becoming the first Singaporean to win a gold at the championships; this also ended Singapore's 16-year medal drought at the continental meet.[4] Two days later, Pereira won the 200 m as well, with a time of 22.70s, setting a new championship record.[8] On 30 July, she claimed gold in the 200 m at the Mittsommernacht Athletics meet in Berlin with a time of 23.32s, beating Gina Lückenkemper, the reigning European 100 m and 4 x 100 m champion.[41] On 5 August, Pereira clocked 23.38s to win the 200 m at the Folksam Grand Prix held in Malmö, Sweden; she narrowly missed out on the 100 m gold, finishing 2nd with a time of 11.50s.[42]

2023 World Athletics Championships & Qualification for Paris 2024

[edit]

Following her results throughout the year, Pereira became the first Singaporean to qualify for the World Athletics Championships on merit. She had competed at three previous world championships, but as a wild card entrant.[43] Her qualification for the 2023 World Athletics Championships was via her world rankings position of 23rd in the world for the women's 200 m and 47th for the women's 100 m.[44] She became the first Singaporean to quality for the Championships on merit and also the first to compete in more than one event at the World Athletics Championships.[45] At the competition, Pereira finished 4th in her 100 m heats with a time of 11.33s. She missed out on a place in the semi-finals, placing 31st out of 54 runners overall and achieved the highest placing among all the Asian athletes who took part in the 100 m.[46] However, she qualified for the 200 m semi-final with a new national record time of 22.57s, placing 12th overall in a field of 44.[5] This made her the first Singaporean to ever progress to a semi-final at the World Championships.[5] Pereira also qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics by meeting the Olympic Qualifying mark of 22.57s, thus becoming the first Singaporean to qualify for the 200 m event at the Olympics.[47] Pereira ended her World Championships outing, finishing 6th in her semi-final heats, clocking 22.79s.[48] She placed 17th overall in the semi-finals, in a field of 23, also achieving the highest placing among all the Asian athletes who took part in the 200 m.[49] On 4 September, Pereira finished 4th in both the 100 m and 200 m at the Galà dei Castelli in Bellinzona with a time of 11.43s and 22.88s respectively.[50] Two days later, she finished 6th in the 100 m at the Palio Città della Quercia in Rovereto with a time of 11.52s.[51]

19th Asian Games

[edit]
Pereira in the 200 m final of the 2022 Asian Games

Pereira competed in the 100 m, 200 m, and 4 x 100 m relay at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou (delayed till 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). On 29 September, she made the 100 m final after finishing 3rd in her heat with a time of 11.42s. She missed the two automatic qualifying spots but made the final by virtue of clocking the fastest time outside the six automatic qualifiers.[52] In the final, she clinched silver with a time of 11.27s, being edged out by China's Ge Manqi by 0.04s; this was the first Asian Games track and field medal for Singapore in 49 years.[53] The next day, Pereira qualified for the 200 m final with a time of 23.14s, the fastest in the heats.[54] In the final, she won gold with a time of 23.03s, also ending Singapore's 49-year wait for a gold medal in track and field at the Asian Games since Chee Swee Lee's triumph in the women's 400 m back in 1974 Asian Games.[55] In the final of the 4 x 100 m, Singapore finished 5th with a time of 45.34s.[56]

Preparations for Paris 2024

[edit]

As part of preparations for her 2024 season and for the Paris Olympics, Pereira was entered for a 400 m race at the Florida Relays on 30 March. Though she finished 5th, her 53.67-second effort eclipsed the 54.18sec mark set by Dipna Lim-Prasad that won her a silver medal at the 2017 SEA Games.[6] With this record, Pereira now holds the national record in all four sprint categories.

Injury setback

[edit]

On 15 April, it was reported that Pereira had suffered a stress injury in her fibula. This meant that she would miss her debut in the Diamond League competition in Xiamen and Shanghai, as well as two major meets in Japan.[57]

On 6 July 2024, Pereira was unveiled as one of the flag bearers for the Paris 2024 Olympics, alongside Team Singapore sailor Ryan Lo.[58]

On 12 July 2024, it was announced that Pereira had qualified for the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics by virtue of her world ranking.[59] She had earlier already qualified for the 200m by meeting the Olympic entry standard.

2024 Paris Olympics

[edit]

Pereira did not qualify for the 100m semi-finals, and she finished 55th out of 72 athletes overall. Her time of 11.63s placed her 7th out of the nine runners in her heat.[60]

In the 200m, Pereira clocked 23.21s in Round 1, finishing last in Heat 5. With 6 slots up for grabs in the repechage, Pereira again placed last in Heat 1 with a timing of 23.45s, bowing out of the 2024 Paris Olympic games, finishing 31st out of 45 competitors.[61]

Personal life

[edit]

Pereira's life journey has been chronicled by her older sisters, Valerie and Shobi Pereira, in the children's book, Go Shanti Go![62]

Pereira has been engaged to former national sprinter and 2x SEA Games bronze medalist, Tan Zong Yang, since 12 June 2024.[63]

Recognition

[edit]
  • Straits Times’ Athlete of the Year: 2023[64]
  • Singapore Sports Awards: Sportswoman of the Year 2024[65]

Personal bests

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Glasgow 2014 – Veronica shanti Pereira Profile". results.glasgow2014.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "28th SEA Games 2015 | Official Results | (Athletics) Biography Overview : PEREIRA Veronica Shanti". Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ "Veronica Shanti PEREIRA | Profile". www.worldathletics.org.
  4. ^ a b Kwek, Kimberly (14 July 2023). "Singapore's Shanti Pereira claims 100m crown at Asian Athletics Championships". The Straits Times.
  5. ^ a b c "Shanti Pereira sets new 200m national record, qualifies for World Championships semis". CNA. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b Teoh, Melvyn (31 March 2024). "Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira breaks 400m national record". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  7. ^ a b "'I was just super pumped': Singapore's Shanti Pereira blazes to SEA Games gold as records fall".
  8. ^ a b "Singapore's Shanti Pereira takes 200m gold at Asian Athletics Championships for historic sprint double".
  9. ^ "World Rankings | Women's 100m (50m-55m-60m)". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Running in the family". AsiaOne. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Shanti Pereira: Setting the Track on Fire since School".
  12. ^ "Running in the family". AsiaOne. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  13. ^ "National Sprinter Shanti Pereira is first recipient of SMU's Yip Pin Xiu Scholarship". www.smu.edu.sg. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  14. ^ a b ""I Lost 2 Scholarships Within A Week": National Sprint Queen Shanti Pereira On The Toughest Period In Her Career, And How She Bounced Back". 8days. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  15. ^ Gupta, Manas Sen (17 July 2023). "Things to know about Singaporean athlete Shanti Pereira". Prestige. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  16. ^ "SGAthletics2015" (PDF). 22 June 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2015.
  17. ^ Lum, Nicole. "SEA Games Athletics (Women's 100m): Shanti Pereira powers home for Singapore's first medal since 1973". RED SPORTS.
  18. ^ "Shanti not to be denied". TODAYonline.
  19. ^ "Shanti Pereira bags 100m bronze, Singapore's first in 42 years". sg.news.yahoo.com. 9 June 2015.
  20. ^ "SEA Games athletics: Singapore's Shanti Pereira wins 200m gold – Channel NewsAsia". Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  21. ^ "Shanti Pereira storms to 200m SEA Games gold, Singapore's first sprint triumph in 42 years". sg.news.yahoo.com. 12 June 2015.
  22. ^ "SEA Games: Women's 4x400m relay break 41-year-old national record". TODAYonline.
  23. ^ "SEA Games 2015: Relay mark but gold still eludes quartet". AsiaOne. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Athletics: Shanti Pereira claims SEA Games bronze in 200m – CNA". Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  25. ^ Abdul Aziz, Sazali (2 July 2021). "Athletics: Sprinter Shanti Pereira bound for the Tokyo Olympics on universality place". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  26. ^ "Athletics – Round 1 – Heat 5 Results". olympics.com. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Shanti Pereira wins 200m gold at SEA Games in new national record". CNA. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  28. ^ Auto, Hermes (18 May 2022). "SEA Games: Silver for Shanti Pereira in women's 100m | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com.
  29. ^ "Shanti Pereira clocks new national record, makes 100m semi-finals at 2022 Commonwealth Games". CNA.
  30. ^ "Commonwealth Games: Singapore's Shanti Pereira fails to qualify for women's 100m final".
  31. ^ "Shanti Pereira sets new national record for 200m, qualifies for semi-finals at 2022 Commonwealth Games".
  32. ^ Chia, Laura (3 November 2022). "Shanti Pereira, Terry Hee, Jessica Tan among seven new Spex scholars for 2022". The Straits Times. p. 1. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  33. ^ a b "Athletics: Shanti Pereira breaks her own 100m national record | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. 3 March 2023.
  34. ^ Kwek, Kimberly (25 March 2023). "Sprinter Shanti Pereira sets new women's 200m national record in Brisbane". The Straits Times.
  35. ^ "Singapore's Shanti Pereira wins 100m finals at Australian championships, breaks national record again".
  36. ^ Ganesan, Deepanraj (2 April 2023). "Coach Luis Cunha surprised as Shanti Pereira breaks national records for 3 straight days". The Straits Times.
  37. ^ Ang, Ervin (22 March 2023). "Athletics: Shanti Pereira sprints to No. 1 in Asia in women's 100m rankings". The Straits Times.
  38. ^ "SEA Games review: Shanti's double the obvious high for Team Singapore, football debacle the definite low". 17 May 2023.
  39. ^ "Singapore's Shanti Pereira sets new 100m national record twice in a day at Germany meet".
  40. ^ Lay, Belmont (15 July 2023). "S'porean Shanti Pereira breaks national record again with 100m gold at Asian Athletics Championships". Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  41. ^ Teoh, Melvyn (31 July 2023). "Singapore sprinter Shanti Pereira beats European sprint champion to win 200m gold at Berlin meet". The Straits Times.
  42. ^ "Results: Folksam Grand Prix Malmo 2023". Watch Athletics. 6 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  43. ^ Kwek, Kimberly (10 August 2023). "Shanti Pereira qualifies for World C'ships on merit, first Singaporean to do so in over a decade". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  44. ^ "Veronica Shanti PEREIRA | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  45. ^ Kwek, Kimberly (10 August 2023). "Shanti Pereira qualifies for World C'ships on merit, first Singaporean to do so in over a decade". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  46. ^ "HEATS | 100 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  47. ^ "Shanti Pereira qualifies for 2024 Paris Olympics 200m event". mothership.sg. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  48. ^ "Shanti Pereira finishes sixth in 200m semis heat, misses out on World Athletics Championships finals". CNA. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  49. ^ "SEMI-FINAL | 200 Metres | Results | Budapest 23 | World Athletics Championships". worldathletics.org. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  50. ^ "Singapore Athletics Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  51. ^ "WISE – Sport Events Management". www.fidal.it. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  52. ^ "Shanti Pereira suffers scare in 100m heat, but qualifies for Asian Games final". CNA. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  53. ^ Mohan, Matthew. "Sprint queen Shanti Pereira takes 100m silver to end Singapore's 49-year wait for Asian Games athletics medal". CNA. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  54. ^ Kwek, Kimberly (1 October 2023). "Singapore's Shanti Pereira says 100m silver a 'huge confidence boost' for 200m Asian Games final". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  55. ^ Mohan, Matthew. "Singapore's Shanti Pereira wins historic 200m Asian Games gold". CNA. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  56. ^ "Athletics – Final Results". info.hangzhou2022.cn. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  57. ^ "No stranger to adversity, Shanti Pereira aims to put injury setback behind her as Olympics nears". CNA. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  58. ^ "Team Singapore All Set for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games". www.sportsingapore.gov.sg. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  59. ^ "Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira to compete in 100m at Paris Olympics". CNA. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  60. ^ "Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira misses out on 100m semis spot at Paris Olympics". CNA. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  61. ^ "No 200m semis spot for Singapore's Shanti Pereira after clocking 23.45s in second-chance heat". CNA. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  62. ^ Yeong, John (2 October 2021). "Go Shanti Go!: A Children's Book That Inspires All to Pursue Their Dreams". SportPlus.sg. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  63. ^ "Shanti Pereira engaged to former national sprinter Tan Zong Yang". CNA Lifestyle. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  64. ^ Ganesan, Deepanraj (11 May 2024). "Sprint queen Shanti Pereira is The Straits Times' Athlete of the Year 2023". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  65. ^ "Darren Ong and Shanti Pereira crowned Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year 2024 – Singapore National Olympic Council". Retrieved 13 June 2024.
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