SETTING THE TONE
Pereira went into the Asian Championships as defending champion in the 100m and 200m events. But much has passed since she clinched that historic sprint double in 2023.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games later that year, she won the 200m – Singapore’s first athletics gold medal at that level since 1974.
Days before that, Pereira already ended Singapore’s nearly 50-year wait for an Asiad track and field medal, with silver in the 100m.
Then, a stress injury to her fibula in early 2024 resulted in her missing her debut in the elite Diamond League competition in China, as well as the chance to race in two major meets in Japan among other events.
It also set her back on preparations for the Paris Olympics from July to August that year. In her second Games campaign, Pereira did not make it past the 100m and 200m heats.
“(It was) probably one of the tougher years. Just because coming off of 2023 with such good momentum, and then suddenly like boom, injury,” she said.
“Gaining that confidence back was probably one of the tougher things I had to do.”
Preparations for this year’s meet in South Korea helped her find her groove and enjoy the process again, said Pereira.
“I was pretty excited going into the Asian Champs,” she added.
“A lot of times when defending champions come into the championships again, they might not be at the top. But I went in knowing that I was one of the top.
“That was a big motivating factor for me. I was there able to fight and that was very exciting for me, especially coming off of last year.”
Pereira finished second in the 100m with a time of 11.41s, just behind China’s Liang Xiaojing at 11.37s.
“For the 100, I was really, really happy about it. Coming off the heats, I did get an SB (season’s best ), but race execution wasn’t my best, and so that was something I was really focusing on (for the final),” she said.
“From what coach and I discussed, the final turned out really well and I came super close to the girl that came in first. It was a pretty great achievement for me, and really happy with that silver medal.”
In the 200m, Pereira missed out on defending her crown by a mere 0.01s behind China’s Chen Yujie, who took gold with a time of 22.97s.
“(It was) a bit more bittersweet because it was so close and it was really just down to the line,” she said.
“It was a really good race, but definitely things that I could work on … I was a bit disappointed of course, I wish my medal colour was different.
“But all in all it was a good champs … A good way to set the tone for the rest of the season.”
The fact that there was disappointment at all is a reminder of her progress, Pereira pointed out.
“Now, we are at a place where we’re disappointed with a silver medal at an Asian-level meet; whereas very long ago, I was upset about getting bronze at SEA Games,” she said.
“It’s really all about perspective and just looking at how far I’ve come. I was able to come into this champs as a contender, and I came out not winning gold, but I’m still one of the top (competitors). And that’s something to be very proud about.”
Less than two hours after her 200m race, Pereira combined with Elizabeth-Ann Tan, Shannon Tan and Laavinia Jaiganth to break the national record in the women’s 4x100m relay final.
They finished fifth in 44.66s, eclipsing the 44.96s set by Pereira, Nur Izlyn Zaini, Wendy Enn and Dipna Lim-Prasad at the 2017 SEA Games.
