National sprinter Shanti Pereira – this year's SEA Games gold medallist in the women's 200m final – got her first taste of track and field when she was in Primary 3 as a spectator watching her older sister compete in a race. That spurred her on to follow in her sister’s footsteps. She took part in her school’s 100m and 400m races and won, catching the attention of the school’s track and field coach, who then asked her to join his training sessions. The rest, as they say, is history.
Almost two decades later, the now 25-year-old has notched several more wins under her belt. At the 2015 SEA Games, Shanti snagged the bronze medal in the 100m and gold in the 200m races – Singapore’s first medals in the sporting event in 42 years. She also rewrote her own national record for the 200m event, finishing the race in 23.6 seconds, some 0.2 seconds faster than the time
