Vanessa Lee powers to women’s 5,000m national record, two weeks after Goh Chui Ling breaks 27-year-old mark

SINGAPORE – In pursuit of faster times, Vanessa Lee is willing to push her own boundaries.

After stopping weight training for nearly a decade as she dealt with body image issues and worried about appearing bulky, Lee began incorporating strength and conditioning into her routine again in 2024, with the use of a resistance band and her own body weight.

The 26-year-old may already be reaping the benefits as she claimed her second national record in nine weeks after clocking 17min 26.62sec in the women’s 5,000m at the Malaysia Open Championships on June 16.

This was the second time that the women’s 5,000m mark had been lowered in two weeks, after Goh Chui Ling, 31, registered 17:33.73 on June 5 to eclipse Yvonne Danson’s 17.35.3, a standard that had stood for 27 years.

Lee said: “I want to improve and I don’t want to be stuck here. There’s only so far my body can take me and there’s so many ways for me to improve – strength training is definitely one thing I can work on.

“I see the improvement it’s given me with my race timings. If this is what it takes to break records, then why not?”

Breaking Danson’s 1997 record began to look achievable after Lee went under 18 minutes for the first time at a February meet in Melbourne, where she clocked 17:47.92.

While she set her sights on the 5,000m mark, that was not the only event that she had to focus on. She also competes in other disciplines and had to prepare for competitions like the World Athletics Cross Country Championships, Nagoya City Half-Marathon and the Singapore Open Track and Field Championships.

At April’s Singapore Open, she broke the 3,000m steeplechase record with her timing of 11:09.16, erasing the previous mark of 11:14.70.

She had another crack at the 5,000m record at the Hong Kong Athletics Championships in May, but fell short by just over two seconds with a 17:37.77 effort, before Goh broke it in early June.

At the Malaysia Open, Lee remained determined to get a sub-17:30 timing even as the conditions at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan were not ideal – the track was still wet from the rain the night before, humidity was high and the temprature hovered around 28 deg C.

But she powered through, crossing the line first ahead of her training partner and coach Nicole Low (18:58.79) and Malaysia’s Margreat Mary Johnson (20:27.68).

While she was in disbelief at her timing, it took about a minute for Lee to get back on her feet, having been exhausted by her national record-breaking effort.

She said: “I was fairly confident because the training that led up to it felt pretty good and I’m already here, I’m invested, let’s do this.

“Thank God everything went well. I’m really happy. It’s been such a long time from dreaming about it to actually be able to get it within reach and then actually doing it, it’s been a long journey and it’s amazing.

“It took so many years to get here... It was nice having all my friends there, watching me and encouraging me from the stands.”

Up next for the sales executive is the Gold Coast Marathon in July, where she will be doing the half-marathon, along with Great Eastern Women’s Run and Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. Lee is also eyeing a spot at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.

Singapore Athletics general manager Shalindran Sathiyanesan said: “Vanessa has grown from strength to strength this year and is in the form of her life.

“Within two weeks, we have two different athletes going under a record which had stood for 27 years. This not only bodes well for our distance running scene, but also indicates that we are witnessing a new golden era for athletics in Singapore.”