By Gladys Koh Wei Le (26A01B), Irene Eva Thomas (26A01B), Tok Kai Xue (26A01B)

Clara Lim has known noise her entire life. 

It began when she was just eleven, stepping onto the track for the first time. But as one year of running turned into two, then more, the noise only intensified. With every medal won and every personal best lowered, her every stride began to bear more weight. Soon, it became an unrelenting echo of having to constantly prove herself over and over again.

Just weeks before the 2025 NSG season, Clara had sprained her ankle. On top of that, she was dealt another blow when she caught a bout of flu. With this, the noise around her only escalated. 

Often, we, the audience, have no clue what goes on behind the scenes. All that is in view is Clara’s current 100m NSG record of 12.21 seconds set just last year, staunchly marking her as the one to beat heading into 2025’s edition of the same race. But what slips past our gaze, unnoticed, are moments of doubt, silent battles of fatigue, the constant juggling of school work and training—all while she tried to live the life of a normal eighteen-year-old. One with room for laughter and friends. 

Through it all, Clara held on to her faith. She tried not to get caught up in the voices of others or swept up by her rivals’ results. Instead, she dug deep, clinging on to the belief that she was going to get there in her own time.

And on April 25th, under the blinding white lights of the National Stadium, all the noise finally caught up to her. The screams of thousands; eyes watching, waiting. The sound of rankings shifting in anticipation, knocking against each other. The sharp scratch of spikes against asphalt. 

As the whole stadium fell into a hushed silence, and the speakers blared, “On your marks”, Clara took her place on the starting blocks. Familiar and poised, as if she had known them her whole life. And in a way, she did. After all, every race she had run had led up to this moment. And so, the gun went off. 

For those new to the track and field scene, a strange scene unfolded before their eyes. Clara, the pre-tournament favourite, was nowhere near the front, as the other runners charged ahead. Instead, Clara trailed behind by a good metre or two. 

But amidst the incoherent hum of the crowd, Clara steeled both her heart and mind. This was no surprise to her. At 1.75m, her height had always been a disadvantage at the starting blocks. Yet, it was the very factor that gave her an edge in the later half of the race, where her powerful strides were no match for everyone else’s. As long as Clara managed to keep her head in the game, the race was hers to win.

Slowly, Clara eased herself back into the competition. The gaping lead that her fiercest rival, Teh Ying Shan, had on her began to shrink; metre by metre, stride by stride. Soon, this lead was inconsequential; the inevitable was not to be denied. There wasn’t a hurdle in sight to stop Clara as she took the lead. 

After all, the race is not won in the first ten metres. It is won in the last ten. One last moment of bravado, one last push for glory. As her foot struck down on the asphalt one last time, Clara surged across the finishing line — and the noise around her shattered. Her finish was brilliant.

For a fleeting moment, a gasp of air, there was only silence. And Clara. 

Hands over her mouth. Eyes wide. Scoreboard lit up with a stunning 12.13s. 

Clara had won, and had shattered her very own record.

The entire stadium, fortunate to witness this marvel, erupted into a deafening roar as she sprinted, stumbling over to her team, leaping into the outstretched arms of Emma Huan (25S03D), her captain and close friend. Together they collapsed into a chaotic tangle of limbs, laughter and love.

And just like that, in 12.13 seconds, Clara Lim had run her last race in green, black, white. 

T&F’s Accomplishments

Besides Clara’s achievements, Raffles Institution also had a splendid performance across the myriad of other events throughout the day.

Lai Rei En (26A01A), a Year 5 runner, also made it to the A-Division 100m Girls Finals and ran alongside Clara. For the 1500m Girls, Elizabeth Tang (25S03O) and Kassandra Lee (26S06G) placed 5th and 8th, respectively, a phenomenal display of heart and resilience. 

Clara Lim was also amongst the line-up in the 4x100m Girls Finals (consisting of Joanna Ho (25S06A), Lai Rei En (26A01B), Sumana Lim (25A01A), Clara Lim (25S06E)). Anchoring as the last runner of the relay, Clara managed to overtake ACSI at the final stretch, resulting in 3rd place for the team. 

Additionally, the 4x400m Girls (consisting of Joanna Ho (25S06A), Yeo Pey Wenn (26S03K), Megan Phua (26S06D), Kimberly Chew (25A01B)) pulled off a splendid comeback — though they had started out fairly behind at 6th, they slowly pulled through and outpaced the other competitors. By the time the baton was passed to the last runner, the team had surged to 2nd place, though they were narrowly overtaken by Victoria Junior College at the last lap. Nonetheless, they did spectacularly well, bringing home a bronze medal for the A-Division 4×400 Girls Finals.

Amongst the final line-up in the A-Division 100m Boys, Garrett Chua (26S06N) and Brayden Chan (25S06E) clinched 2nd and 3rd place respectively, both winning spots on the podium. Garrett also achieved a personal best in this race, clocking an impressive 10.91 seconds – breaking the 11-second barrier.

Ethan Lee (25S06B), competing in the 1500m Boys Finals, achieved 4th place, while the 4x100m Boys achieved 2nd. The latter’s performance was especially tense, with their huge lead early on eventually being eclipsed by ASCI at the very last moment, finishing with a mere difference of 0.09 seconds to claim silver.

As the final race of 2025’s Track & Field NSG, Raffles ended it off on a high with the 4x400m Boys. As the baton was passed on to the second runner, Manuj Reddy (26S03B), he surged forward, propelling the team from 5th place all the way to 2nd. This lead was steadily maintained till the end of the race, and with that, Raffles Institution clinched a silver medal for the 4x400m finals.

Raffles Institution’s performance for this year’s A-Division Track and Field was outstanding. The girls managed to achieve a silver overall, while the boys swept the competition with a gold trophy proudly in their hands.

Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s Track & Field NSG. Us Rafflesians watching, truly couldn’t be prouder of all of you for flying our flag so high. As the cheers fade and the track rests, may the memories you have made endure in your hearts. Auspicium Melioris Aevi, see you next season!