Third national record in three days for Shanti Pereira as she smashes own 200m mark

SINGAPORE: Shanti Pereira set her third national record in as many days as she clocked 22.89s in the women’s 200m heats at the Australian Track and Field Open in Brisbane on Sunday (Apr 2).

In doing so, the Singaporean smashed her own record of 23.16s set in the 200m final at the Brisbane Track Classic on Mar 25, where she finished third.

Pereira’s new record time would have been enough for her to win gold at the last five editions of the Asian Games.

"I’m honestly still in disbelief," she told CNA in the evening. "It’s a major milestone for me so it feels incredible."

On Saturday, the 26-year-old also broke her own new national record in the 100m, winning the final in Brisbane in 11.37s.

That was 0.01s faster than the previous national record she set in the heats of the event on Friday.

Pereira was the fastest qualifier in the 200m on Sunday but did not compete in the final later in the day.

Speaking to CNA, Pereira's coach Luis Cunha said the decision to pull out was to avoid overstretching her both physically and mentally.

"This has been mentally very tiring (for her) ... Every time she ran in the past three weeks, it was equalling the national record or a national record. You have no idea how stressful this can be," he said, adding that 2023 will be packed with competitions.

"We've a big challenge this season because it is a very long season with an unusual number of major competitions because of COVID-19 (postponements)."

Last November, it was announced that Pereira would be joining the Sports Excellence Scholarship programme, which supports athletes headed to major Games.

She has been training full-time since January, a change that proved extremely helpful, said Cunha. "She's very committed and she's had the perfect