Natalie's hand foils record chase
It was close, but no cigar. At the division three, area four, inter-schools athletics finals at Wan Chai Sports Ground yesterday, German Swiss International School (GSIS) student Natalie Armentrout flew over the 100-metre finish line, looked up and saw her time of 12.88 seconds frozen on the giant screen.
Proof, she thought, that she had clearly broken the grade C schools record of 12.90.
But, minutes later, 13-year-old Natalie's elation fizzled away when officials told her she had equalled the record, not beaten it.
A photo-finish showed that her leading hand had set off the sensitive timing equipment and that her shoulders had crossed the line two hundredths of a second later.
'It's disappointing,' said the American, who was born in the SAR and is a member of the Hong Kong junior team.
However, Natalie made up for the frustrating near-miss two hours later when she smashed the grade C 200m record, clocking a brilliant 26.77 seconds to erase the year-old mark of 27.21.
The Watson's Athletic Club sprinter then put the icing on the cake by anchoring her team to victory in the 4x100m relay and, in the process, secure the girls' overall title for German Swiss. The school also took the grade B honours.
TWGHS Lui Yun Choy Memorial College won the A and C championships.
In the boys competition, SKH Li Fook Hing Secondary School (LFHS) were crowned overall champions with a total score of 216 points, just 16 ahead of Salesian School.
The school took the grade B title with ease, but struggled in the chase for grade A honours. That glory was shared by Aberdeen Technical School and German Swiss, both on 84 points. St Paul's College won the grade C title.
German Swiss managed to grab a share of the grade A spoils in dramatic fashion at the end of the crucial deciding event, the 4x400m relay.
Cruising to victory, just 10 metres from the finish line, German Swiss student Raphael Wenk lost his concentration and balance, and almost the race, when he stumbled and fell. With his school's only hope for a boys' title about to go up in smoke, panic-stricken Raphael pulled himself together and scrambled over the line to nose out a pouncing Salesian School rival.
Stars for the champion LFHS team were sprinters Yeung Siu-shan, who won the grade B 100m race in 12.26 seconds, and Chan Chi-fai, who clocked 16.78 to win the grade B 100m hurdles. The pair later linked up to help their school win the 4x100m relay.
More pictures at yp.scmp.com
