KUALA LUMPUR: After almost breaking the 200m national record yesterday, Russel Alexander Nasir Taib is now determined to work harder to beat the record of 20.90 seconds set by Khairul Hafiz Jantan.
The Kuala Lumpur-born Russel clocked 20.94s at the QA Shield Series: Norma Croker Shield Championships at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre on Saturday, only 0.04s slower than Khairul Hafiz’s record.
The feat has made him the third fastest Malaysian in the 200m event, behind Khairul Hafiz and previous national record holder Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan who set 20.92s at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Russel, 20, who is based in Australia since the age of three, has also qualified on merit for the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar in April, World University Games in Napoli, Italy in July and the Philippines SEA Games in November through his new personal best.
Apart from that, the sprinter with Malaysian-Australian parents, has a big dream – to represent the country in the 200m event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to end the 16-year drought at the world’s biggest multi-sports event.
“I am very happy with my 200m time and to have gone under 21 seconds for the first time. I have been working hard in training and have been keeping healthy, so this result has validated all the work my coach (Denise Boyd), supporting team and I have put in”
“I am close now to the 200m national record, so I am hoping with more hard work and determination, I can beat that record and be a great champion like the current record holder Khairul has been for Malaysia. My goal for 2019 is to make the national team and then be able to compete in international competitions,” he told Bernama.
– Bernama
The last Malaysian men’s sprinter to feature at the Olympics was Nazmizan Muhammad at the 2004 Athens edition in Greece, while no athletes from athletics have won medals.
After claiming the 400m bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Youth Athletics Championships, Russel suffered hamstring issues till the end of 2017, before gaining back his momentum to claim bronze in the 200m and a silver in the men’s 4x100m relay for the Perak team at the 2018 Malaysia Games (Sukma).
“The recurring minor hamstring issue had affected my performance for a substantial amount of time. However, we were able to resolve this at the end of 2017 and since then I have kept myself healthy and learned to look after my body better.
“Rest and recovery are just as important as training. Though my primary focus for this season is the 200m, I still do run in the 100m and 400m events as both help strengthen my speed and endurance for the 200m,” he said.
Russel, who trains under former Australian Olympian and 1978 Edmonton, Canada Commonwealth Games 200m gold medallist Boyd since April 2018, is yet to set a target for the Philippines SEA Games, but promised to go all out to succeed. – Bernama
