Jeevaneesh Soundararajah
Jeevaneesh S/O Soundararajah (born 5 July 1993) is a national runner who represented Singapore in the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.[1] He is the current record holder for the 2.4km distance run at a time of 6min 52.97sec, which he set at the 2022 Pocari Sweat Run on 8 January 2022.[2]
Jeevaneesh is an avid football fan, and a supporter of Arsenal F.C. He is also passionate in solar energy solutions, and cites that his “ambition in life is to accelerate Singapore's transition towards environmental sustainability through solar PV Systems and electric vehicles”.[3]
Background
Educational Background
Jeevaneesh studied at Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School from 2006 - 2009, and subsequently at Hwa Chong Institution from 2010 - 2011.[4] After serving his National Service, Jeevaneesh studied mechanical engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 2014 - 2018, during which he did a student exchange programme with Loughborough University in 2017.[3]
He is currently an engineer at solar energy agency SolarGy Pte Ltd. He is also an athlete sponsored by Asics.[3]
Track Career
‘A’ Division and IVP Games
Jeevanesh began his track career while studying, having represented his schools at various local and overseas track meets and competitions and amassing various accolades. According to his Singapore Athletics profile, he decided to specialise in the 5,000m event as he found training for middle distance too intense, and training for long distances such as the 10,000m, half-marathon and full-marathon too long and daunting.[1]
In 2011, he won the 5,000m race at the National Inter-school Track & Field Championships, as well as the National Inter-school Cross Country Championships. During the latter, he set the 4.6km course record at 14min 57.05sec, beating the previous record of 15min 20.86sec set by Soh Rui Yong in 2009 (then running for Raffles Institution).[5] The win helped Hwa Chong Institution break Raffles Institution’s three-year stranglehold on the ‘A’ Division Boys’ Championship.[5]
At the start of the race, Jeevaneesh nearly lost his balance, having stepped on a loose patch of muddy grass as well as being tripped by runners behind him. However, he managed to regain his balance, and worked his way through the field to eventually come in first. In an interview, he shared that his tactic was to “start fast and set a quick pace in the early stages of the race, in order to make it difficult for anybody who wished to stick with me”.[5]
In 2014, Jeevanesh won the 5,000m event at the Under-23 Singapore Athletics Association Track & Field Championships.[1]
In 2018, he represented NUS in the 2018 Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Games, where he won the 5,000m race with a timing of 15min 32.59sec.[6] He had also won the 10,000m race, setting a personal best at a time of 33min 25.04sec.[7]
2015 SEA Games
At the 28th Southeast Asian Games held in Singapore in 2015, Jeevaneesh represented Singapore in the Men’s 5,000m race. He came in eighth place, at a time of 16min 14.75sec.[8]
2022 Pocari Sweat Run
At the 2022 Pocari Sweat Run on 8 January 2022, Jeevaneesh was one of three runners who managed to break the seven-minute barrier for the 2.4km distance run. Jeevaneesh finished in first place at a time of 6min 52.97sec, breaking the previous record of 6min 53.18sec set by compatriot and national marathoner Soh Rui Yong in September 2021.[9]
With the win, Jeevaneesh was awarded the prize pot by Pocari Sweat of S$700 in cash and 700 bottles of Pocari Sweat, as well as prizes from other sponsors such as 700 packets of chicken rice.[10] On 17 January 2022, it was reported that Jeevaneesh plans to donate 400 packets of chicken rice he won, and give the remaining 300 packets to his friends and family.[11]
References / Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “Jeevaneesh S/O Soundararajah – SEA Games 2015 Athletics Squad”. Singapore Athletics. May 4, 2015. Accessed 14 January 2022.
- ↑ Ong, Tanya. “3 men ran sub-7 in Pocari Sweat 2.4km challenge, 28-year-old S'porean finished 1st in 6 minutes 52 seconds”. Mothership. January 8, 2022. Accessed 20 January 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 “Jeevaneesh Soundararajah” LinkedIn. Accessed 14 January 2022.
- ↑ “Jeevaneesh Soundararajah”. Facebook. Accessed 20 January 2022.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Soh, Rui Yong. “Cross Country: Jeevaneesh Soundararajah sets new course record as Hwa Chong end Rafflesian dominance to win first A Div title since 2007”. Redsports. March 29, 2011. Accessed 14 January 2022.
- ↑ Soh, Romaine. “Jeevaneesh Soundararajah captures elusive IVP 5,000m gold”. Second Wind Nation. January 14, 2018. Accessed 20 January 2022.
- ↑ Soh, Romaine. “NUS’ Zachary Devaraj, Jeevaneesh Soundararajah and Vanessa Lee dominate IVP Distance Night”. Second Wind Nation. January 18, 2018. Accessed 20 January 2022.
- ↑ Tan, Wan Xin. “SEA Games Athletics (5,000m): Melvin Wong finishes 7th, Jeevaneesh 8th as Nguyen wins gold in record time”. Redsports. June 9, 2015. Accessed 20 January 2022.
- ↑ Choo, Daryl. “National runner Jeevaneesh Soundararajah breaks Soh Rui Yong’s 2.4km record at Pocari Sweat run”. Today Online. January 9, 2022. Accessed 14 January 2022.
- ↑ Lee, Jeremy. “National Runner Breaks Soh Rui Yong’s Record In 2.4KM Run, Also Sets National Best”. Must Share News. January 9, 2022. Accessed 14 January 2022.
- ↑ Ong, Jeremiah. “Winner of Pocari Sweat Run 2.4km challenge to donate 400 packets of chicken rice”. Straits Times. January 17, 2022. Accessed 18 January 2022.