A run of good news for Malaysian athletics

IT has really been a long time since there was any excitement about Malaysian athletics, which has been mediocre at best.

But over the past month, the silence has been replaced with a buzz – and it’s not the old off-track squabbles. Instead, it’s the rumble of records tumbling as national runners blazed their way into the headlines.

National marathoner M. Sanjay got the blood racing when he set a new benchmark in the men’s 10km road race at the Songkhla Marathon.

The 23-year-old posted 31.03 to improve on the national mark of 31.55 set by G. Vimal in Bangkok last year. 

Just two weeks later, 21-year-old Kristian Tung bettered Sanjay’s time by posting 30.07s at the Rotterdam Big 10. And to make it sweeter, he was just making his debut in the event. 

Both runners finished their events with plenty to spare, indicating that they could go much faster.

Kristian, in fact, had already made head turns before that. Just two weeks earlier, the Kuala Lumpur lad, who won three golds at the last Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak last year, shattered a long-standing national record held by S. Muthiah with his spectacular time of 8:15.81 in the 3,000m at the BMC Record Breaker meet in London. 

Muthiah’s old mark of 8:27.00 had been unbeaten since 1985 – 40 years ago – when this writer was still in primary school. 

There was good news in the field events too as hammer thrower Grace Wong rewrote her national record, hurling a distance of 63.53m at the Malaysian Open, erasing the old mark of 62.48 set in 2021 in Bukit Jalil.

This is what Malaysian athletics had been dreaming of for a long time – fast men and strong women stepping up on the plate.

It is certainly a good sign as we get ready for the Thailand SEA Games in December, where we hope these athletes will break more barriers and regain the country’s long-forgotten glory days in the region.

I hope Sanjay and Kristian will obliterate other long-standing national marks in long distance running, like M. Ramachandran 28-year-old record in the 5km (14:06.84) and 10km (29:30.19) track events. 

In an interview with Ramachandran in the past, he had pleaded for the current athletes to break his mark. He said the long wait for it to be broken meant a lack of progress. 

Rama will likely be the happiest person if the record is improved. 

Despite the recent great shows, there is a tinge of disappointment.

How wonderful would it have been if Sanjay, Kristian and even Grace had made it to the World Championships starting today in Tokyo, Japan? 

Unfortunately, they are not at the world level yet, but let’s hope they get to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best real soon. 

We have had former greats like Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan, Rabuan Pit in the big stage.

This year, Malaysia will only be represented at the worlds by national men’s 400m runner Umar Osman who got in via a wild card. 

The 22-year-old’s goal is to improve his national record of 46.09s, which he had set two years ago at the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu. 

Can Umar bring some cheer from Tokyo – to keep the good run of our athletes going? Let’s hope so. 

Of course, Tokyo - and the world - will be glued to the men’s and women’s blue- riband event, the 100m dashes. 

Will defending champion Noah Lyles of the United States romp to another victory? Or can Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson ruin the American party?  

Former world champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica has backed his countryman to beat the colourful American. After all, Thompson did give Lyles a good fight before finishing second behind the American at the Olympics in Paris last year.

In the women’s 100m, St Lucia’s Olympic Games champion Julien Alfred will be out to topple defending champion Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States. Expect a great duel, and a flamboyant one at that. 

Or can Australia’s Gout Gout, the son of Sudanese immigrants, pull off the biggest surprise of the world meet when he make his debut action in the 200m?

The 17-year-old has already ignited a wave of excitement across the globe with his blistering pace, and has been hailed as the new Bolt.

Eyes will also be on Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis to break the world record again - he has done it three times this year, by reaching 6.29m. 

Keep an eye on the Kenyan July Beatrice Chebet as she has become the fastest woman to ever run 5km. She did it in an amazing 13:58s. That means she covered one km in an average of 2.7 mins! And let’s not forget America’s youngest ever participant Cooper Lutkenhaus who will make his debut at 16 in the men’s 800m.

He is not out there just to make up the numbers. His time of 1:42.27s is the fourth-fastest 800m ever run by an American and the joint 18th-fastest by anyone. 

So, settle in for nine days of captivating drama at the worlds, and let’s hope Umar will shine bright for Malaysia in the Land of the Rising Sun.

If he does, it will be yet another reminder that Malaysian athletics is no longer whispering in the background. There could be a new beginning, something worth celebrating.