.jpg) Kunalan at a Singapore Olympic Academy Youth Session, 2008. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Canagasabai Kunalan | |||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Singapore | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1942-10-23)23 October 1942 (age 83) | |||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1963–1979 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country |
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| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||
Events | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Tan Eng Yoon Yap Boon Chuan | |||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1979 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Canagasabai Kunalan (born 23 October 1942), known asC. Kunalan,[1] is a retiredSingaporeansprinter,relayrunner, formerfootballer andeducator, widely regarded as one of Singapore's greatest ever athletes.[2][3] Named Sportsman of the Year in both 1968 and 1969,[4] his feat of 10.38 seconds in the 1968Mexico City Olympic Games100 metres was a national record that stood for 33 years.[5][6][7]
Kunalan first came into running in 1963, at the age of 20. Formerly a football player, Kunalan switched to running when his PE teacher commended him for his fast-moving legs after noticing him running while chasing the ball.[8] He participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics as part of the Malaysian 4 × 100 m relay team with Malaysian sprint legendMani Jegathesan, and subsequently represented Singapore after it left the federation.
Kunalan has participated in twoOlympic Games (Tokyo, 1964 andMexico City, 1968)[9] and has earned fiveAsian Games and fifteenSoutheast Asian Peninsular Games medals.[10]
He had to retire in 1979 due to a heel injury.
C Kunalan taught six years in Tiong Bahru Primary School and thirteen years in Dunearn Secondary Technical School before joining theNational Institute of Education in 1980.[1][11] Kunalan became an assistant professor there.[12] He specialized in functional anatomy and exercisephysiology, and conducted practical classes in fitness and conditioning. Kunalan left the institute in 2010.[13]
He was awarded theMeritorious Service Medal in 2015 as part of the National Day Awards.[10]
He also serves as Vice Principal (Training and Selection) with the Singapore Athletic Association.[14][15]
Kunalan was one of the 23 members of theSingapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC).[16]
Kunalan is a member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[17]
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