Shanti Pereira has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming the first Singaporean to achieve the feat of qualifying for the 200m event at the world meet.

She matched the entry mark of 22.57 seconds on Aug. 23, 2023, when she finished second in Heat Three at the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.

Her time booked her place in the 200m semi-finals on Aug. 24 for the competition in Hungary, but she failed to secure a place in the finals.

This was after she clocked 22.79s to finish sixth in the third semi-final at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.

Reigning 200m world champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica was fastest with 22.00s, followed by American Sha’Carri Richardson with 22.20s.

The top two from each of the three semi-finals moved into the final, along with the next two fastest runners.

Pereira was 17th overall among the 24 entrants.

Richardson won the 100m on Monday.

History-making sprints

Pereira had booked her spot for the world meet in Hungary from Aug. 19-27 through her world rankings in both the 100m and 200m.

Previously, she competed in the 200m at three previous world championships as a wild card.

Pereira will next compete in the 100m and 200m events in the Sep. 23-Oct. 8 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

She is going in as the favourite, having clocked the fastest times in Asia for both distances this season.

Her history-making timings saw her win the 100m-200m sprint double at the SEA Games in Phnom Penh in May.

In July, she won the 100-200m sprint double at the Asian championships in Bangkok.

Since March, she has also rewritten her 100m national mark six times and the 200m four times.

Top photos via Pinoy Athletics