SINGAPORE — When Tin Shu Min started racewalking last February, she found herself getting weird looks from her schoolmates at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI). But she was glad she persevered.

Shu Min’s nimble feet saw her win the “A” Division Girls’ 3,000m walk at the National Inter-School Track and Field Championship at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium last week, setting a new “A” Division girls’ record of 17min 53.37sec in the process.

It bettered the previous best of 19:35.96, which was also set by her, at last year’s meet.

“I felt very self-conscious because it’s a very new sport in Singapore,” recalled Shu Min, 17. “They would look at me and go like, ‘Oh no … what is she doing?’. I felt out of place but I found the courage to continue it.”

What made her achievement more remarkable was that she took up racewalking completely by accident, having initially joined cross-country at the start of her college life.

“When my coach saw that I had potential in racewalking, I was a bit doubtful of him,” said Shu Min, a final-year student at HCI. “I came with my heart set on cross-country and, suddenly, I was doing another event. In the beginning, I asked myself if I was spending my time constructively and wondering whether this was the right path for me.”

Having also emerged champion in five of the Singapore Athletic Association Series walks last year, this is the latest of her many triumphs.

Now, in addition to teaching her peers various racewalking techniques, she hopes more will take up the sport, and offered some words of advice.

“Wear proper socks because there’s a lot of friction between the foot and the shoes,” said Shu Min with a laugh. “Also, the technique is very simple to master — but you will need lots of practice in order to get the hang of it and go as fast as you can.” CHARLES ONG