SMU’s very own SEA Games silver-medallist Gary Yeo has won the men's 100m and Singapore's first gold at the 16th ASEAN University Games in Vientiane, Laos, last Saturday, 15 December 2012. To make the win sweeter, the third-year business undergraduate had clocked his personal best of 10.44 seconds, beating Malaysia's Hadi Mohd Noor Imran (10.56s). Gary’s time is also the fourth-fastest in Singapore history and the fastest clocked since UK Shyam set the national record of 10.37s back in 2001.
Gary, who made his Olympic debut earlier this year, is aiming to better that mark next.
“The national record is just another milestone for me to aim for to help me improve. I have to look at the bigger picture… There are several big and important meets and targets next year, such as winning the (men's 4x100m relay) gold at the SEA Games,” he said in a media interview.
Gary’s result on Saturday also met the qualifying time of 10.47 for the 2013 SEA Games to be held in Myanmar. Come next year, Gary is set to train full-time with his team-mates to prepare for the World Athletics Championship in Moscow in August, and to achieve their SEA Games gold medal target in December.
Way to go, Gary!
[Above: Straits Times file photo of National runner Gary Yeo (second from right), winner of the 100m event at the 74th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships on Aug 26, 2012. Gary won the men's 100m and Singapore's first gold at the Asean University Games in Vientiane, Laos, last Saturday. (Photo by Pandora Wong, ST)]