SINGAPORE — The busy scene of bulldozers, tractors and construction workers at the yet-to-be-completed National Stadium was far from the “Grand Old Dame” of Chee Swee Lee’s memories, but there was no mistaking the rush of adrenaline that Singapore’s former sprint queen felt as she stood under the imposing metal arches of the stadium’s 312m dome and retractable roof yesterday.

At the 1973 South-east Asian Peninsular (SEAP) Games, the red tartan track of the old stadium — which opened its doors in July 1973 and was demolished in 2010 — was the scene of one of Chee’s happiest and most heartbreaking moments when the then-18-year-old was beaten to the gold medal by Mar Mar Min of Burma in the women’s 800m final. Chee eventually finished the athletics competition with two silvers in the 400m and 800m and went on to capture the Republic’s first women’s gold medal in the 400m at the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran a year later.

Letting out an impressed “wow wow wee” at her first glimpse of the bustling stadium floor, 55,000 red and white seats and giant television screens, the 59-year-old was clearly delighted to tour the Kallang facility, which is expected to be partially completed next month.

“I got goosebumps ... I wish I was able to compete there again,” said Chee, who resides in the United States and was back in town this month, and toured the S$1.33 billion facility yesterday at the invitation of former team-mate C Kunalan.

“It is the most amazing structure that any athlete can have. It is the most modern, most beautiful and it’s going to get your adrenaline charging when you run the last 100m on the track. I really wish (the late) Tan Eng Yoon could have seen this, he would have loved it.” She was referring to the former national sprinter, jumper and national coach who died in a road accident in 2010.

Chee, who was coached by Patrick Zehnder, continued: “At the 1973 SEAP Games, I could hear the crowd roar and I loved that feeling. It motivated me and kept me going. Running those two events in the National Stadium was the most memorable for me during my career.”

A member of the Republic’s golden generation of track and field athletes from the ’60s and ’70s that included hurdles queen Heather Siddons-Merican, Glory Barnabas and 1966 Asian Games silver medallist (men’s 100m) Kunalan, Chee represented Singapore at the Burma SEAP Games in 1969 when she was only 14, winning silver in the 400m.

Five years later at the 1974 Asian Games, she blitzed past arch-rival Nobuko Kawano of Japan in the 400m final in a new national record time of 55.08sec to clinch a historic gold for Singapore, before winning a silver and bronze in the women’s 4x400m and 4x100m relays. Chee’s 400m record and 4x400m relay mark of 3:43.85 are the oldest ones in the Singapore Athletic Association’s record books today. She also holds the 800m mark of 2:07.4.

The schoolgirl runner went on to win two gold medals at the SEAP Games in Bangkok in 1975, but an Achilles tendon injury that she sustained before the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal ended her successful run before her last major meet at the 1981 SEA Games.

She eventually recovered to compete in college and club events in the US, where she studied at the Mt San Antonio College and California State Polytechnic University on athletic scholarships.

While Team Singapore’s track and field athletes have not made an impact at the Asian level since the heydays of the ’70s, Chee is optimistic that Singapore has the talent to challenge the best in the region.

The sprint legend met with rising stars Shanti Pereira and Dipna Lim-Prasad during a visit to the Singapore Sports School on Tuesday and was impressed with what she saw. “The national records are ready to be broken and it takes somebody who wants it bad enough. It takes a lot of courage to train for the 400m,” she said.

“I think we have the talent to do it. Shanti and Dipna can do it.

“Shanti is blessed with speed and talent … their time will come, they have the ability and talent and it’s just a matter of time.

“People need to be patient and not expect it to happen right away. It took me 10 years (to win the gold).”

Currently based in Las Vegas, Chee, who works as a realtor, hopes to be able to witness the young Singaporeans triumph when she returns here for next year’s SEA Games at the Sports Hub from June 5 to 16.

The self-confessed foodie — who has retained her Singaporean citizenship despite moving to the United States in 1983 and marrying an American — is also looking forward to hunting down her favourite local food when she returns next June.

“I really miss char kway teow and chendol as we don’t get it in the US, even at the Malaysian restaurants. People always ask me why I haven’t become a US citizen, but I tell them I am Singaporean, and I can’t give that up,” she said.