This time round we get cosy and talked to Sheena Hu. She’s one of Singapore’s fastest senior ladies sprinter. Recently she won the WINGS Open 2004 with a new meet record of 12.87s. She has yet to come near her personal best in 100m of 12.65s this year. Well read on to find out more about her!

Height: 1.58m

Weight: 55kg

Born: 19 Mar 1984

Events: 100m, 200m

1. Tell us about your background, what are you doing now? studying, working, etc

   Sheena: I’m currently doing an Accountancy course in Nanyang Technologial University

2. How did you get started in Track & Field?

   Sheena: When i was in primary school, I was not given the chance to participate in the 100m during the school sports day as there were many trackers in my house. I still remembered my PE teacher asking us to go forward and register for the 100m if we think we are better than the trackers. Obviously i didn’t dare, but due to my interest in running and especially after being “deprived” of the chance to run before that, I decided to join the Track and Field team in Secondary 1 while I was in St. Nicholas Girls School. At that time my only target was to stand on the top of the rostrum one day, and I finally did it after 6 years, when i won the 100m gold for the ‘A’ Division Girls. It was a long wait but definitely worthwhile

3. What made you stay in Track, making the sacrifices and endure the hard training

   Sheena: As mentioned above, standing on the top of the rostrum was my target during the earlier part of my tracklife. It served as a motivation for me to train hard and to fulfill my dream. After winning the gold medal in 2002, I wanted to quit track as I thought university life will be even busier. However thanks to Mr Melvin Tan who encouraged me to continue track as i had just reached my peak and to aim for the national team. So I did not give up. In fact i must admit that I am rather lazy and unable to take hard trainings, but thanks to my understanding coaches for the “discounted trainings” and my training mates who are always there to cheer me on when I feel like giving up. It has definitely been rewarding and fulfilling to have you all for trainings. I really appreciate and thank this special group of people for being part of my track-life

4. I’ve been asking around the Track scene about you and they have only good words about you. Hows was the support from your family and friend’s. Are they an important part in your life?

   Sheena: My family is very supportive of me. In fact I believe that this is an important source of support as i am able to train without any worries. Of course not at the expense of my school work. My parents are really great. They often make the effort to go down and watch my races and they are always so encouraging and giving me the assurance in my races. Besides my friends and training mates are always so sweet. Simple “SMSes” from them when I feel lousy for trainings or races really make me pick myself up and to train even harder. Thanks for constantly reminding me of my desire and keeping me in track of where my focus should be. Thank you so much because these simple words mean alot to me.

5. What is you goal for this year and what is your long term goal?

   Sheena: Hopefully to go under 12.4s this year. As for my long term goal, I would like to make it to the next Sea Games squad since we missed going for the games held at Vietnam last year, and of course given the opportunities to represent Singapore at Asia meets again

6. Where do you foresee Singapore athletics heading?

   Sheena: It’s encouraging to see that many of the younger athletes are showing good form and clocking reasonable time. I really hope that we can be given more opportunities to compete overseas so as to gain exposure and experience. In fact the standards in Singapore is still relatively low compared to the countries in Asia. However there is still much more that can be done and potential for better results at regional meets. Take one step at a time and hopefully with the athletes’ commitment and more incentives from the Sports Association, Track and Field in Singapore can soar to greater heights

7. Other than Track, what else is your passion/hobby

   Sheena: Not sure too … maybe sleeping and eating? My daily routine is going school and rushing for training after that. Not much time for my own activities … sob!

8. What are you advise to young nurturing athletes

   Sheena: Love the sport before you can excel. Most importantly train hard for yourself. Don’t do the trainings out of obligations or to please your coaches, but rather for your own passion and desire. Once you have made up your mind to pursue this sport, stay committed and not give up till you have achieved your goals. To be the best that you can be, it’s not easy definitely. Alot of hardwork and sacrifices have to be made and good time management is important too, but at the end of the day, I’m sure you’ll be able to look back in contentment with all your achievements and to leave with you with memories that you will hold on forever.

9. How do you prepare before a race usually? What are you running tactics during your run

   Sheena: I will warm up 70 minutes before the race, do my usual training warmup – 6 mins jogging followed by stretching, then drills and fast pickup before I report. I will do mental preparation and to psyche myself up for the race and to run it through in my mind and most importantly to calm myself down so that I will be relaxed for the run. I do not have any running tactics. Just stay focused, be alert to the command, start fast and aggressive. Keep low and drive forward (I can’t really do this but it’s important!). And all the way to the finish line, keep telling myself FAST! FAST! FAST! while running.

10. The Athen’s Olympics are coming up, who are you supporting. Any running idols you look up to?

    Sheena: I’ll definitely support the Singapore athletes who are representing the country. Hopefully they will do us proud, even by doing their PBs there. All the best! Ad of course Marion Jones who have been an inspiration to me

Sheena Hu is no stranger to the role of team leader. She has led her relay team to numerous victories. As she trains toward her goal of SEA Games participation, Sheena isn’t resting on the laurels. She is now one of the top-ranked woman sprinter in Singapore and we at Track United bids her success