By the turn of the year, Dora still couldn’t fully adapt to the new pedagogy, and once again she was back directly under Coach Fabian’s tutelage. This time, a new problem had surfaced – Dora had a fat pad impingement in her knee and it was affecting her walking. The athlete in Dora had initially tried to push through the pain during training, but it was evident that she needed treatment. She sought treatment from Movement Mechanics Physiotherapy, who had helped Dora throughout her career. It was a balancing act between seeing the physiotherapists for treatment, and capping Dora’s training to ensure the injury was managed.
The after effects of the injury told, as she was still far from her best. Dora only clocked 7:53 mins for her 1500m walk at the penultimate race before the Schools Championships of 2016 despite clinching the gold. It was a trying time balancing her treatment and training to keep her racing condition. But everything seemed to fall into place by the final prep race of the season – the 42nd Singapore Youth and Junior Athletics Championships. Enthusiastically, Dora signed up for not just the race for her division, but the one above her – a 3km walk. The 3km walk was up first, and Dora nonchalantly broke the division record (the record did not stand as she was not eligible for that division). Just 20 minutes later, Dora was up against Xing Yao in her own division. Fear was a thing of the past as a different Dora stepped up to the line. Nothing was going to stop her that day as she broke the National U17 record, clocking 7:23 mins.
Finally, it was time for the National Schools Championships. Race walking had definitely gained traction in the 2 years since Dora won her first medal. More participants were joining the event as there were comparatively less competition, but the overall standard was improving. Yet, everyone knew that it was going to be match-up between Dora and Xing Yao. Both girls were placed in different heats, and both breezed through into the finals. Just like the year before, both girls started off conservatively. This tactic didn’t work as well for Dora though, as she found herself boxed in within the first lap. She recovered quickly, side-stepping out of the box and back into the race. The race proceeded as anticipated – Dora and Xing Yao had made their way miles ahead of everyone else. It was their race to lose. They matched each other step for step, until they didn’t. Xing Yao had made the first move – she pulled ahead with 1 lap remaining, but Dora had her on a leash the whole time, never letting the distance grow more than 1 stride long. With half a lap remaining, both girls’ legs were in double time, trying to outpace each other. Then, with just 100 meters to go, Xing Yao pulled ahead again, struggling to keep form as she frantically tried to get into the lead, but Dora had hit her limit. The gap widened, but an official stood up, red card in hand, and flashed it upwards. Dora eased off as she crossed the line. Both girls had pushed each other hard enough that they had faltered in some extent, but finished close enough that the recipient of the disqualification was still ambiguous.
What followed was an agonising wait for the results. Coach Fabian was restless, and Dora was emotional. Every technical official who walked out was followed only to be met by groans of the people waiting for the race walk results. Sheet after sheet got sent out, until finally, the ‘B’ Girls’ 1500m Race Walk results were put up. In first place, Dora Shoo. Dora had come full circle, winning her final race in secondary school the way she won her first.