Calvin Quek wins Singapore's first 400m hurdles SEA Games gold since 1965

BANGKOK: Singapore’s Calvin Quek ended a six-decade wait for gold in the men’s 400m hurdles at the 33rd SEA Games on Monday (Dec 15).

At the Suphachalasai stadium, Quek clocked a time of 50.27s to cross the line ahead of Vietnam’s Nguyen Duc Son and Le Quoc Huy.

"This is something ... I've been working towards since 2023. (It's) been a tough 2024," said Quek, who was visibly emotional when speaking to reporters after the race.

"Thankfully, I think 2025 was a good season. From start to end, the timings were great and I was consistent."

The last Singaporean man to win gold in the event was M Gunasena at the 1965 Games.

At the 2022 Games, Quek clinched a bronze, which was Singapore’s first medal in the event since 1969.

He followed up with another bronze at the last edition of the Games in Cambodia.

"There was a lot of pressure to win this gold medal after my national record performance," said Quek, who rewrote his own national record in August with a time of 49.75s.

"It’s just a lot of relief being able to finally achieve this after a whole year of hard work.”

This is Singapore's third athletics gold at this edition of the Games after a historic second consecutive sprint double by Shanti Pereira. Both Pereira and Quek are coached by Luis Cunha.

"Right up till I joined coach Luis, I was not there, I was nowhere close ... to even qualifying for a major Games, a SEA Games," said Quek.

The Singaporean said he was focused on executing his own race en route to winning gold.

"I wasn't able to see where my opponents were in that last stretch. I just know I (was) clearly in front and I just had to stay in front no matter what."

Shanti Pereira ended her Games campaign as the women’s 4x100m relay team finished fourth. The team