2026 IVP Championships
recap
Kicking Off the Local Season in Style
Written by Amir Rusyaidi Osman
21, 24 and 25 January 2026
Published 27 January 2026
IVP week is now well and truly done, and as the first major local competition of 2026, it delivered a packed weekend of track and field action — from high-profile sprint clashes to dominant doubles, breakthrough personal bests, and a stack of championship records falling across both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Several athletes also wrote themselves into the IVP all-time lists, underlining the level of performance on show and paying homage to the athletes who previously held those benchmarks.
All-Time List Entries
IVP 2026 saw several athletes break into the all-time rankings - particularly in the women’s endurance and field events.
In the Women’s 10,000m, Ng Xuan Jie clocked 39:26.90, placing her 10th all-time in history. The throws also produced new all-time entries, with Feng Han Qi launching 36.91m in the Women’s Javelin Throw to rank 10th all-time, while Neo Ee Nin threw a PB of 38.37m in the Women’s Discus Throw to enter the list at 10th all-time.
In the jumps, Jade Chew’s 1.67m in the Women’s High Jump was another major marker, moving her up to 5th all-time.
Championship Records (CR)
If IVP 2026 proved anything, it’s that the record books are there to be challenged — and several long-standing marks were rewritten across both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Men’s Championship Records
In the Men’s Long Jump, NUS’ Andrew George Medina delivered one of the meet’s biggest field performances, winning with 7.41m to break the championship record of 7.25m, set by NTU’s Lai Yong Hui in 2013. The event came with controversy too — Medina initially jumped what looked to be a new personal best of 7.56m, before the attempt was retroactively declared a foul under circumstances that left many puzzled. Even so, his 7.41m was still enough to win by close to half a metre and rewrite the IVP record books.
On the track, Temasek Polytechnic’s Aswin Kumar Suyamprakasam produced one of the performances of the championships in the Men’s 800m, front-running to 1:54.45 to demolish the championship record of 1:55.20, previously held by NTU’s A Saravanan Pillai since 1995 — a mark that had stood for 31 years.
In the Men’s Pole Vault, NUS’ Low Jun Yu capped off his final IVP in style, clearing 4.80m to successfully defend his title and break the previous championship record of 4.71m, set by NUS alumnus Chan Sheng Yao in 2018.
The weekend closed with a statement in the Men’s 4x400m, where Republic Polytechnic combined for 3:21.72 to break the championship record of 3:23.18, set by NUS in 2008. The RP quartet of Khairul Nazim, Ifeanyichukwu Asyaraff, Harry Irfan Curran and Hari Subaraghav took more than a second off a record that had stood for nearly two decades.
Women’s Championship Records
On the women’s side, Ng Xuan Jie went one better than an all-time list entry in the Women’s 10,000m, as her 39:26.90 also lowered the championship record. She broke the previous meet record of 39:43.78, set by NUS alumna Vanessa Lee in 2020 — a significant mark, given Vanessa’s standing as one of Singapore’s top distance runners of her era.
In the Women’s 3000m Race Walk, NUS’ Jermaine Oh won gold in 17:27.12, breaking the championship record of 17:29.65, which had been held since 2017 by SMU alumna Tin Shu Min, the national record holder in the event.
In the field, NUS’ Jade Chew produced one of the defining performances of IVP 2026, clearing 1.67m in the Women’s High Jump to break the previous championship record of 1.66m, set by SMU’s Michelle Sng in 2006. The clearance was also a personal best for Chew, and moved her up to 5th all-time in history.
Beyond the Records
While the record-breaking performances were the headline-makers, IVP 2026 also had no shortage of storylines across the rest of the programme.
Men’s highlights
In the sprints, the marquee matchup came in the Men’s 100m, where Singapore’s two leading sprinters — NUS’ Tate Tan and SIT’s Daryl Tan — finally went head-to-head. Both represented Singapore at the SEA Games last December, with Tate becoming Singapore’s 7th fastest man of all time after clocking 10.45 in the SEA Games heats. Daryl, meanwhile, came in as the two-time defending IVP champion and Singapore’s 11th fastest man ever with a PB of 10.53. The matchup lived up to its billing, with Tate taking the win in 10.61, while Daryl finished just 0.06 seconds behind in 10.67.
Daryl still ensured he walked away from IVP with a title once again, winning the Men’s 200m in 22.04. While he is best known as a 100m specialist, the 24-year-old owns a 21.68 PB over 200m and had just clocked 21.77 in Perth in February with an illegal wind reading. The 200m also showcased emerging depth in the event, with Temasek Polytechnic’s Donovan Yip and Republic Polytechnic’s Ifeanyichukwu Asyaraff both going under 22 seconds legally for the first time in the heats, clocking 21.93 and 21.95 respectively, before taking second and third in the final behind Daryl.
The Men’s 400m was more straightforward, with Republic Polytechnic’s Hari Subaraghav, a newly minted SEA Games debutant, winning gold and clocking the first two sub-50 performances of the year.
In the Men’s 800m, the story was not just Aswin’s record-breaking run, but also what could have been. Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Jayden Tan was expected to provide the main challenge, but the pair were not placed in the same heat — and Jayden’s weekend ended abruptly when he was disqualified for a lane infringement. With the field behind him, Aswin took full control from the front and delivered one of the cleanest wins of the championships.
In the Men’s 1500m, pre-race favourite Adarsh Aravinth (NUS) found himself at a disadvantage after being placed in the first heat, and also wasn’t fresh after racing the 5000m the day before. Still, he set a strong standard with 4:13.48, a time faster than anyone in Heat 2 had ever run, with the exception of Nicholas Wee (RP) and Koh Wen Qiang (SIT). In Heat 2, Jayden Tan made a move with 200m to go and looked set to win, but Nicholas Wee produced a strong late surge in the final 50m to win in 4:12.10, securing his first ever individual IVP gold medal. Jayden still walked away with a PB of 4:12.67, while Adarsh ultimately finished third overall.
Adarsh, however, still left IVP with gold. In what was one of the highest-quality distance matchups of the weekend, he and Jon Lim (NUS) went head-to-head in the Men’s 5000m, with Adarsh coming out on top. Jon, the 2024 5000m and 10,000m champion, missed IVP 2025 due to injury, and returned to win the Men’s 10,000m in commanding fashion, dipping under 33 minutes in his first track race in almost two years.
The field events continued to deliver beyond the long jump record. Medina followed his win with a second-place finish in the High Jump, clearing a PB of 1.94m, but losing on countback to Saw Xiang Yu (SIM). Gabriel Lee (NUS), Singapore’s national record holder in the triple jump and a SEA Games medallist, won the Men’s Triple Jump, adding another major title to NUS’ field-event haul.
The throws also saw clear favourites deliver. Lucas Wong (NUS) dominated the Men’s Javelin Throw with 57.24m, with five of his six attempts landing further than the second-place athlete. In the Men’s Discus, Singapore’s fifth-best thrower all-time Jonathan Low Jun Jie sealed gold with 43.12m on his final attempt after trailing earlier in the competition. In the Men’s Shot Put, Kynaston Wee (NUS) marked his return with a PB of 12.86m, a mark that would have placed him second in the 2025 rankings.
Over the hurdles, Medina also claimed the 110m Hurdles in a PB of 15.63s, while Khairul Nazim (RP) won the 400m Hurdles in 60.35s to regain the IVP crown he lost in 2025. In the Men’s Steeplechase, Joshua Yeow (NUS) took his maiden gold and improved on a bronze medal from 2025, with 1500m champion Nicholas Wee finishing second.
In the relays, RP completed a clean sweep, winning both the 4x100m and 4x400m, with the latter producing a championship record to close out the meet.
Women’s highlights
The women’s events were defined by dominant doubles, record-breaking performances, and several major PB jumps.
In the sprints, NUS’ Amanda Loo won the Women’s 100m after setting a PB of 12.41 in the heats. She finished ahead of SEA Games representative Sarah Poh (SIM), who was racing for the first time since returning from her post-SEA Games off-season.
Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Laavinia Jaiganth delivered one of the most convincing performances of the weekend, completing the Women’s 200m–400m double in 25.60 and 58.92. She was the only athlete to break 26 seconds and 59 seconds respectively, as she builds towards the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in February.
In the middle distances, NUS’ Janelle Lum completed the Women’s 800m–1500m double, winning the 800m in 2:27.43 and the 1500m in 5:08.22, both by clear margins. Manuela Sidhom (RP) collected silver medals in both events, clocking 2:29.34 and 5:19.47.
Over the longer distances, Ng Xuan Jie completed the Women’s 5000m–10,000m double in PB fashion, winning the breaking the 10,000m championship record before returning to win the 5000m in 19:00.58. Under Armour signee Ng Kai Yi (NTU) finished second in both races, underlining her consistency across the endurance events.
In the hurdles, Victoria Chan (RP), Singapore’s second-ranked high hurdler, won the Women’s 100m Hurdles, securing her second straight IVP title. In the Women’s 400m Hurdles, Audrey Koh (NUS) took gold in 70.20. The Women’s 3000m Steeplechase saw SIT’s Sarah Goh lead an SIT podium sweep.
In the jumps, Jade Chew’s weekend didn’t stop at the high jump record — she also won the Women’s Long Jump with a personal best of 5.44m. The Women’s Triple Jump produced a major breakthrough performance too, as Jurnus Tan (NTU) won with 11.44m, a 20cm PB that would have ranked her fourth in Singapore’s 2024 and 2025 lists.
The pole vault also saw a redemption arc, with Shayne Tan winning the Women’s Pole Vault with 2.90m, a year after recording no height at IVP 2025.
In the throws, the women’s shot put was one of the tightest contests of the meet. Discus specialist Neo Ee Nin (NUS) edged out javelin specialist Feng Han Qi (NUS) by just three centimetres, 8.95m to 8.92m, with Michelle Seah (SIM) taking third in 8.55m. Ee Nin also won the Women’s Discus with a PB of 38.37m, improving by over a metre from her previous best of 36.85m (2025), while Han Qi claimed the Women’s Javelin title with a PB of 36.91m, improving on her previous best of 35.78m (2023).
Looking Ahead
As the first major local meet of the year, IVP 2026 offered an early snapshot of what’s to come — championship records being rewritten, athletes pushing into the all-time lists, and several key names laying down markers for the season ahead. The jumping scene looks to build from 2025, while the throwers are definitely on the right track. NUS retained their stranglehold on both the women's and men's team rankings, with the gap widening to second place. RP came through on the men's side for silver, relegating the NTU men to bronze. The NTU women defended their second place well, with SIM just edging RP out for bronze.
If this is how the local calendar starts, 2026 is going to be busy.
* results obtained via Singapore Athletics archives and the respective World Athletics pages