Shanti Pereira sets new 200m national record, qualifies for World Championships semis

SINGAPORE: Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira stormed into the semi-finals of the women's 200m at the World Athletics Championships on Wednesday (Aug 23), breaking her own national record in the process.

Pereira crossed the line in 22.57s, beating her previous national mark of 22.69s. She finished second in her heat, behind Jamaica's reigning world champion Shericka Jackson.

The top 3 from each of the six heats moved on to the semi-finals, along with athletes from the rest of the field with the next six fastest times.

The Singaporean finished 12th overall.

Pereira's run at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary meets the qualifying mark for the event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. According to Singapore Athletics, she is the first Singaporean to meet an Olympic qualifying mark in athletics.

Shanti also becomes the first Singaporean to make a World Championships semi-finals, said Singapore Athletics.

Pereira's appearance at the World Championships - where she qualified on merit, rather than as a wildcard - comes on the back of a scintillating 2023 for the Singaporean. 

Earlier this year, she became the first Singaporean woman to win both the 100m and 200m events at the same edition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in May and then followed that up with a sprint double at the Asian Athletics Championships in July.

On Sunday, Pereira missed out on a spot in the women's 100m semi-finals after clocking a time of 11.33s.

Pereira, whose national record stands at 11.20s, finished fourth in the second heat of the event, and 31st overall. The top three from each of the seven heats moved on to the semi-finals, along with athletes from the rest of the field with the three fastest times.

Pereira will compete in both sprint