Shanti Pereira Facts
If you’ve read headlines on the news recently, one name would have been appearing a lil’ more often: Shanti Pereira. For introduction, Veronica Shanti Pereira is not just a record-smashing Singaporean track-and-field athlete, she’s also recently made history as one of the most accomplished sports figures in the country by winning multiple golds for sprinting in 2023 alone at just 26 years old.
Stealing hearts not just in Singapore, but around the world, Shanti’s story is as inspiring as it gets. With the eyes of the world on this statuesque track goddess, here are some interesting facts about her and her life so far.
Contents
- Shanti Pereira Facts
- 1. Won Singapore’s first Asian Games athletics gold medal since 1974
- 2. She’s overcome personal injury
- 3. She’s the first Singaporean woman to celebrate a double win at the SEA Games since 1973
- 4. Her love for athletics began in primary school
- 5. Shanti’s first international win was at 12 years old
- 6. She continued smashing records to become Singapore’s top sprinter
- 7. She has a tattoo of a sparrow
- 8. She’s the first recipient of SMU’s prestigious Yip Pin Xiu Scholarship
- 9. She has a children’s book written about her
- 10. She’s a self care and yoga girly
- 11. She’s battled imposter syndrome
- 12. She’s been naturally competitive from young
- 13. She loyally re-watches her favourite TV series
- 14. She loves TikTok
- 15. She’s a jumpscare queen
- Shanti Pereira Shows That We Should Never Give Up On Our Dreams
1. Won Singapore’s first Asian Games athletics gold medal since 1974
2023 was Shanti’s first time competing in the Asian Games 200m final as she didn’t advance past the semi-finals in the last edition of the Asian Games in 2018. And luckily, her 200m win ended a 42-year gold medal drought for Singapore in sprinting.
She not just took the gold, she clocked a personal best and set a new national record at 23.03s.
2. She’s overcome personal injury
Every sportsman or woman is bound to suffer some hard knocks. Shanti persevered after facing personal battles due to a grade 2 hamstring strain that put her out of commission for a month, which led to her not qualifying for the 2018 Asian Games semi-finals.
3. She’s the first Singaporean woman to celebrate a double win at the SEA Games since 1973
She won both the 100m and 200m sprint events at the same edition of the SEA Games in May 2023.
4. Her love for athletics began in primary school
According to Prestige, Shanti was in Primary Three when she saw her older sister, Valeri, competing in a school race. It ignited a sudden inspiration within her and she started competing and winning in her school’s annual sports day 100m and 400m events.
5. Shanti’s first international win was at 12 years old
Talent starts young for some, and for Shanti, she flexed her gazelle-like sprinting talents at the Thailand Sports School School Games in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 2009 with three incredible wins: the 200m, the 4 x 100m relay race, and 4 x 400m event, garnering immediate national attention.
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6. She continued smashing records to become Singapore’s top sprinter
After her streak of beating national records, she went on to become the first Singaporean to win a double gold at the Asian Athletic Championship in Bangkok in July 2023 by beating the competition in the 100m dash and 200m sprint event.
7. She has a tattoo of a sparrow
Located on her left arm, Shanti has a tattoo of a sparrow. She told The Straits Times in 2023 that it represents freedom to her, adding that she only focuses on her own personal goals, free from what anyone else says or thinks about her.
She’s also most recently added another tattoo of the Olympic symbol near her right wrist according to another magazine interview.
8. She’s the first recipient of SMU’s prestigious Yip Pin Xiu Scholarship
Acquiring a scholarship is a dream for many in Singapore, and for Shanti that’s a reality.
After graduating from Republic Polytechnic, she was offered a full scholarship to study accountancy at Singapore Management University in August 2017, granted to her for her outstanding achievements in sports.
The scholarship was created the previous year in 2016 by SMU, and named after 5-time Paralympic Games gold medallist swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, a former SMU alumna.
9. She has a children’s book written about her
Shanti with her sisters Valerie and Shobi
Source
Shant’s 2 older sisters, Valerie and Shobi wrote and published a children’s book about her called Go Shanti Go!. Illustrated by Sienny Septibella, the book covers Shanti’s real-life journey of becoming one of Singapore’s greatest athletic icons, with the aim of inspiring young children to follow their dreams.
10. She’s a self care and yoga girly
Aside from running, Shanti regularly posts non-sport content on her Instagram, showing her adoring audience what she uses for her daily skincare routine and the products she likes. She also believes in enjoying her downtime whenever she can with solo pampering sessions that involves watching comedy series and face masks.
She also takes time out from her super busy schedule to stretch her lithe limbs at yoga.
11. She’s battled imposter syndrome
Shanti revealed on YouTube’s Ya La BUT podcast that she has struggled on her journey with the weight of expectation on her along with a lot of negative comments that made her question if she should continue training.
Thankfully she persevered despite the haters. She said on the podcast that she experienced a mindset shift before training for the SEA Games, and that she knew she was born to do what she does.
12. She’s been naturally competitive from young
Not only has Shanti killed the competition on the track field, she was also known to be highly competitive in school. “I was always kind of ‘on’ during PE. But my classmates were also ‘on’ and I would be very upset,” she recalls while laughing on the Ya La BUT podcast.
13. She loyally re-watches her favourite TV series
What’s on Shanti’s watch list? She cites her favourite TV series as Modern Family and she has re-watched all 11 seasons at least 30 times!
She also rewatches two other shows she loves, New Girl and Brooklyn 99.
14. She loves TikTok
When asked about how she enjoys her downtime in interviews, Shanti hails TikTok as one of her main go-to’s.
She mainly watches non track-related content, preferring makeup and beauty as well as packing videos.
15. She’s a jumpscare queen
Shanti with her coach, Luis Cunha
Source
Halloween season would sit just right with Shanti. She mischievously revealed in a podcast interview that she likes jumping out and scaring her coach. In fact, they’ve turned it into a game and try to outscare each other whenever the opportunity strikes.
Shanti Pereira Shows That We Should Never Give Up On Our Dreams
Although we might sometimes think that you have to be naturally gifted at something in order to achieve success and recognition, Shanti shows us that even gifts need to be nurtured with consistent practice.
She’s also a prime example that it’s okay to struggle on your journey. As long as you keep believing in yourself, nothing will stop you from getting what you want.
Also read:
17 Singapore Athletes From The ’90s-2000s And Where They Are Now
