Soh makes glorious comeback in first race after injury

SINGAPORE – After being sidelined by a foot injury for six months, one that also hampered his efforts to qualify for the Rio Olympics, national marathoner Soh Rui Yong made his comeback in style on Sunday (Oct 9) at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

The 25-year-old University of Oregon graduate finished the event in 2hr 24min 55sec. The time not only eclipsed his previous PB of 2:26.01, which he had set at the 2014 California International Marathon, but also put Soh on the threshold of qualifying for next year's South-east Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur.

It was also just 33 seconds over the 1995 national marathon record of 2:24.22 set by Murugiah Rameshon, the closest that anyone has come to the 1995 mark.

He wrote in a Facebook post after his race: "Well, this is what I can do off a 9 week build-up - 2:24:55, fastest ever time by a Singaporean on an AIMS - certified, record eligible course. Super windy out there but hung tough for a 1:13:00/1:11:55 negative split. Broke the SEA Games qualifying mark by more than 12 minutes, so see you in Kuala Lumpur next year.

"Lots of people I owe thanks to for your support. Special mention goes out to my parents who were in town to support me today, and these 4 guys for your guidance in training over the past 9 weeks: my coach Ian Dobson of Team Run Eugene, coach Andrew Kastor of Mammoth Track Club, coach Ben Rosario of Northern Arizona Elite, (and) Jay Bawcom."

Soh had spent the past year battling plantar fasciitis – which causes pain in the heel and at the bottom of the foot. He had a subsequent flare-up of the injury soon after at the Fukuoka Marathon, which saw him dropping out at the 12km mark.

The pain continued to dog him at the World Half Marathon Championships and the London Marathon in March and April, respectively, and Soh eventually missed out on qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

According to Singapore Athletics selection rules, the reigning SEA Games champion now needs to take part in another distance event between January and May to seal his ticket to Kuala Lumpur. Soh can compete in either a sanctioned 10km race or a half-marathon, but needs to finish by a certain time to confirm his spot for the SEA Games.