Team Singapore athletes bank on biomechanics, analytics to boost SEA Games performance

SINGAPORE: It may be Shanti Pereira’s seventh Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, but Singapore’s sprint queen shows no sign of slowing down.

After being dogged by injury in 2024, she bounced back with two silvers at the Asian Championships in May. However, the 29-year-old missed out on a semi-final spot at the World Championships in September. 

She is now pushing through with about 10 training sessions a week and has set her sights on gold in all three of her SEA Games events to close out the season.

"It has been a really long season,” she told CNA.

“(My) focus will always and forever be health and recovery – so just making sure that I'm okay, my body is okay, and I'm healthy and ready to be at the start line.”

Pereira is also among several Team Singapore athletes using performance analytics and biomechanics to boost their competitive advantage this year.

Singapore is sending its largest overseas athletics team yet, looking to top its haul of 10 medals from the last edition in 2023.

A record-breaking 39 track and field athletes – 26 men and 13 women – will compete at the Games across events like pole vault, triple jump, long jump and discus throw.

For Pereira, who is Southeast Asia’s fastest woman ever in both the 100m and 200m, data analytics allows her to work on fine margins – of utmost importance in sprint events.

It starts with ensuring she gets the fastest possible launch from the starting blocks.

Her running technique – or kinematics – is also closely analysed, from arm swings to stride length and frequency.

Her speed is tracked as well, with every split time recorded and measured.

Biomechanics focuses on how athletes move, such as the technical execution of individual skills. 

Meanwhile, performance analysis involves identifying