Shanti Pereira lands sixth place in 200m semis heat; World Championships journey concludes

SINGAPORE: On Thursday (24 Aug), Singapore’s sprint queen Shanti Pereira concluded her remarkable performance at the World Athletics Championships. Her journey came to a close when she achieved a time of 22.79s in the women’s 200m semi-finals.

Participating in the third heat out of three at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, Ms Pereira secured the sixth position.

Securing the top spot was Shericka Jackson, the reigning 200m world champion from Jamaica, followed by Sha’Carri Richardson, who had claimed victory in the 100m event just days before.

Advancing to the finals were the top two competitors from each of the three heats, in addition to athletes from the remaining field who posted the next two fastest times.

Among the 24 competitors in the semifinals, Pereira secured the 17th position.

In a Facebook post on Friday morning, Singapore Athletics shared that Pereira’s timing of 22.79s now stands as her fourth-fastest performance in the 200m event.

From national records to international glory

Notably, Ms Pereira is the first Singaporean athlete in more than a decade to earn her WAC spot solely based on her performance, as opposed to receiving a wild card entry.

Pereira’s recent athletic feats have solidified her status as a force to be reckoned with.

Earlier in July, Ms Pereira secured gold in both the 100m and 200m events at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok.

She even rewrote her national 100m record for the sixth time this year, clocking an astonishing 11.20 seconds, and claimed victory in the 200m event while establishing a new meet record of 22.70 seconds.

Notably, Pereira’s exceptional performances have also brought an end to Singapore’s 16-year medal drought at the regional meet.

In May, she became the first Singaporean woman to triumph in both the 100m and 200m events in a single edition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Throughout this year, she has broken the national 200m record three times, with her most remarkable effort being 22.69 seconds at the SEA Games in Cambodia, which also stands as a meet record.

The pinnacle of her year remains the Asian Games in Hangzhou from 23 September to  8 October, where she stands as a strong contender for the gold medal after her remarkable achievements in 2023.