All hail Shanti! Sprint Queen dominates over European champ in Germany

SINGAPORE: Shanti Pereira’s year of glory shines on as her 2023 winning streak continues, besting Germany’s Gina Luckenkemper at the 200 meters at the Mittsommernacht Athletics meet.

Shanti ran an impressive 23.32 seconds, cinching first place in the race on Jul 30 (Sunday). She is no longer just Singapore’s or Asia’s Sprint Queen, as the 26-year-old athlete appears to have set her sights on world domination.

At the SEA Games in May, Pereira clocked a timing of 11.41s in the 100m event and set a new game and national record in the 200m race with 22.69s.

In mid-July, Shanti claimed back-to-back wins at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok in the 100 and 200-meter races, breaking the national record for the 100m with a time of 11.20s.

And last weekend, in Charlottenburg, Berlin, she outran the German athlete, the European 100m and 4x100m relay champion.

Up next for Shanti are three more Europe stops. The Straits Times reported that on Aug 5, she’ll be at the Folksam Grand Prix in  Malmo, Sweden, before heading to Copenhagen, Denmark, on Aug 9, and by Aug 19, she’ll be in Budapest, Hungary, for the World Athletics Championships.

She’ll later head back to Asia. The runner will be part of the 24-strong track and field contingent for the upcoming 19th Asian Games, held in Hangzhou, China, in September, where she’ll again compete in the 100m and 200m events.

Aside from the national record for the 100m event, Shanti also holds the national record for the 200m Southeast Asian Games record (22.69s) and 200m Asian Athletics Championships record (22.70s).

Her banner year began on March 3, when she took the bronze for the 100m event at the New Zealand Track and Field Championships.

This was followed on Mar 25 when she again finished third in the 200m race at the Brisbane Track Class.

On Apr 1, she won the gold for the 100m at the Australia Open. The following day, she became the first Singaporean woman to run under 23 seconds at the 200m event. /TISG

Shanti Pereira headlines the Singapore Athletics contingent for Asian Games