Laavinia Breaks 50-Year-Old National Record!
2024 World Athletics U20 Championships
Rising star Laavinia Jaiganth has made headlines by breaking the 50-year-old U20 400m national record at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru. The 18-year-old, who is pursuing the joint Ngee Polytechnic-Singapore Sports School Diploma in Business Studies, set a new mark of 54.66 seconds in Heat 6, surpassing the previous record of 55.08 seconds set by Chee Swee Lee in 1974.
Laavinia, whose previous personal best was 56.86 seconds, not only broke the long-standing record but also climbed from 7th to 3rd on the All-Time list. Despite not advancing to the semi-finals, her performance broke Singapore’s half-a-century-long athletics record.
In an interview with The Straits Times, Laavinia expressed her satisfaction with the achievement and her readiness for future improvements. “My coach Fabian William and I had a clear goal to achieve a personal best. We trained intensively during our camp in Ecuador and were confident heading to Peru. I also worked on managing my emotions and boosting my confidence on the international stage. Breaking such a historic record is incredible, and I feel there's still a lot more to achieve.”
Laavinia qualified for the championships through a universality slot, recognising her as the top female U20 athlete. Her impressive performance has set a new benchmark for Singaporean athletics.
Meanwhile, Lucas Fun Le Cong, a post-secondary student-athlete from the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme, competed in the Men’s 110m hurdles and finished 6th out of 9 in the heats with a time of 14.30 seconds.
Rising star Laavinia Jaiganth has made headlines by breaking the 50-year-old U20 400m national record at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru. The 18-year-old, who is pursuing the joint Ngee Polytechnic-Singapore Sports School Diploma in Business Studies, set a new mark of 54.66 seconds in Heat 6, surpassing the previous record of 55.08 seconds set by Chee Swee Lee in 1974.
Laavinia, whose previous personal best was 56.86 seconds, not only broke the long-standing record but also climbed from 7th to 3rd on the All-Time list. Despite not advancing to the semi-finals, her performance broke Singapore’s half-a-century-long athletics record.
In an interview with The Straits Times, Laavinia expressed her satisfaction with the achievement and her readiness for future improvements. “My coach Fabian William and I had a clear goal to achieve a personal best. We trained intensively during our camp in Ecuador and were confident heading to Peru. I also worked on managing my emotions and boosting my confidence on the international stage. Breaking such a historic record is incredible, and I feel there's still a lot more to achieve.”
Laavinia qualified for the championships through a universality slot, recognising her as the top female U20 athlete. Her impressive performance has set a new benchmark for Singaporean athletics.
Meanwhile, Lucas Fun Le Cong, a post-secondary student-athlete from the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme, competed in the Men’s 110m hurdles and finished 6th out of 9 in the heats with a time of 14.30 seconds.
