From National School Games to Asian C’ships, teen sprinter Shannon Tan chases records

Sprinter Shannon Tan at Home of Athletics on June 6, 2025. The Secondary 4 student from Cedar Girls' Secondary School was part of the record-setting 4x100m quartet at the Asian Athletic Championships in May. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Hana Chen

UPDATED Jun 08, 2025, 09:01 PM

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SINGAPORE – When she got her maiden national call-up in May, teenage sprinter Shannon Tan thought she would be heading to the Asian Athletics Championships just as a reserve.

But a surprise awaited her at the continental meet in South Korea. On the eve of the women’s 4x100m relay final, the 15-year-old was told that she would be running alongside sprint queen Shanti Pereira, Elizabeth-Ann Tan and Laavinia Jaiganth.

Clocking 44.66 seconds to finish fifth out of seven teams, the quartet set a national record at the Gumi Civic Stadium on May 31, eclipsing the previous mark of 44.96sec registered in 2017 by Pereira, Wendy Enn, Dipna Lim-Prasad and Nur Izlyn Zaini.

Being part of a record-setting team on the Asian stage was beyond the wildest imagination for Shannon, a Cedar Girls’ Secondary School student who turns 16 in November.

“Being 16 years old and being able to run at a national level at such a major competition, it’s like a dream that no one would ever think of,” said the Secondary 4 student, who ran the first leg of the relay.

She was nearly overwhelmed with anxiety, but her jitters faded once she stepped onto the track. 

It was the encouraging words of her school coach, Margaret Oh, which helped to steady her nerves. 

“She told me (that) I’ve run so many races. This is just another race,” said Shannon, who won four gold medals at the National School Games (NSG) in April, clinching two individual titles in the B Division girls’ 100m and 200m, and two relay titles in the 4x100m and 4x400m. 

Shannon had also felt intimidated at the prospect of teaming up with her seniors – athletes whom she look up to.

But they made her feel welcome and through conversations with them, she learnt more about the ups and downs of an athlete’s path and the importance of pushing through stagnant periods to achieve growth.

It is something that she is familiar with. 

She began her athletic journey in Primary 3, when her mother encouraged her to pick up track and field as a way to expend her energy, and as a potential Direct School Admission (DSA) pathway. Though initially unenthused, she took it up and specialised in sprints and the long jump. 

After getting into Cedar Girls’ via DSA, Shannon focused on the long jump, as she felt “slower” than the other runners.

More doubts about her athletic future crept into her mind following a pause in training due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a left ankle injury.

While she focused more on sprints after the ankle sprain, a hamstring injury which sidelined her for eight months in 2023 left her discouraged.

It was only after Oh became Cedar Girls’ coach in October 2024 that Shannon regained her spark.

“At the time, I didn’t even believe in myself, and she was the only one that believed in me, so I really felt like I owed it to her to give it my all in track and field.

“I really wanted to do well, because she went through so much effort to train me,” said Shannon.

Oh said Shannon caught her eye with the way she runs, adding: “It is very rare that you find an athlete who has all these in place – the wanting to win, the ability to run fast.”

Under Oh’s tutelage, Shannon went from strength to strength and was even aiming to break NSG records.

Though she did not manage to do so – her personal-best 12.27sec set in the B girls’ 100m final was just 0.02sec behind the electronic-timed record clocked by Elizabeth-Ann Tan in 2019 – the inter-school games proved to be her breakthrough.

Shannon’s showing prompted national relays coach Hamkah Afik to approach Oh about adding the teenager to the South Korea-bound national team.

After reviewing data – which included baton-exchange timings and individual race analysis – collated by the High Performance Sport Institute’s sports scientists, a decision was made to include her in the women’s 4x100m final. 

“We gave her that chance and she really proved to us that she could put in the effort,” said Hamkah. “She did not disappoint us.”

With support from friends and family – her parents were key to her decision to prioritise athletics over academics – Shannon is poised to make the next leap in her career.

A transfer to the Singapore Sports School is on the cards, as she eyes a spot at the Dec 9-20 SEA Games in Thailand. 

“My coach put the idea to me that I’m capable of many great things.

“And that gave me the drive and determination that I need to pull off whatever I did,” added Shannon, who is aiming to go under 12sec in the 100m.

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