12 September, Matt Roseby
The annual Singapore Athletics Pocari Sweat Run took place earlier this month, with University of Melbourne student-athletes Jeevaneesh Soundararajah and Ling Chui Goh securing record-breaking victories in the Men’s and Women’s Elite Divisions respectively.
The run is the pinnacle of several 2.4km events held around Southeast Asia. In Singapore, the distance is included in the National Physical Fitness Award scheme and the military’s Individual Physical Proficiency Test, meaning students and service people around the country participate in the event. The result, as Jeevaneesh explains, is nationwide participation in the event and broad recognition of the distance’s difficulty.
Jeevaneesh, in his first year at Melbourne studying a Master of Engineering, had a nail-biting finish to his race, winning by only 0.28 seconds. Jeevaneesh commenced training at the Melbourne University Athletics Club earlier this year. After two weeks of training with the Club, he equalled the Singapore 10km road record. Joining an impressive list of athletes at the Club and with the opportunity to race alongside and against three 2022 Commonwealth Games competitors, he has good reason to expect further improvement in his times.
Discussing the importance of the support he received from the University both on and off the track, Jeevan explained, ‘the physio and strength and conditioning support I receive is critical to my performance, along with the academic resources on offer.’ The victory at Pocari added to his 2022 successes, where he won bronze in the 1500m at the Singapore Open in April and 7th in the 1500m at the 2022 South East Asia Games in May.
Fellow student-athlete Ling Chui Goh won her race comfortably, finishing 19 seconds ahead of second. Ling recently commenced a Doctor of Philosophy (Law) after practising civil and criminal law in Singapore and graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Law in 2021.
Ling has continued to excel athletically throughout her studies and career in Singapore and Australia. In 2015, competing as part of Singapore’s 4x400m relay at the Southeast Asia Games, Ling broke the national record that stood for over four decades. Six years later, she shattered the national 10km road record by 51.5 seconds, breaking her record a month later by a further 49 seconds.
Ling expressed gratitude to the University and the Elite Athlete Program for improving her performance and gave an insight into how she has managed to balance her Athletics while pursuing her career in law, completing a Master of Law at the University before beginning her Doctorate;
“My performance in sport and academics have always come together because these endeavours go hand-in-hand holistically in my life. Being focused, committed, and determined are skills required in both sport and academics, and I often found that the lessons I learnt in one area apply to the other”.
As both elite athletes and international students, Jeevaneesh and Ling are at the intersection of two demographics on campus. Ling shared how the two have provided her “exposure to different cultures, perspectives, and mindsets, which have been a priceless experience”. Jeevan mirrored Ling’s comments, explaining how the support network around the University, combined with Melbourne’s already rich running culture, has offered an unparalleled opportunity to “improve as a student-athlete and maximise my potential in Athletics”.
