Pole vaulter Sarah in pole position to win again at SEA Games

PUTRAJAYA: On current form, defending champion Nor Sarah Adi (pic) is not expected to face any problem defending the women’s pole vault gold medal at the SEA Games in Cambodia this May.

The confidence expressed by the country’s athletics head coach Zaki Sadri stems from the outstanding achievement of the Hanoi SEA Games gold medallist last year while also taking into account her success in scooping the silver medal at the Taiwan Indoor Athletics Championships last month.

“If you follow her current performance, Sarah is still relevant (for the gold target) because she just participated in Taiwan and her performance is still consistent.

“We hope Sarah can focus on ensuring that the country retains the gold medal at the SEA Games,” he said.

Zaki said the 22-year-old athlete is now under the tutelage of former national women’s pole-vaulter, Roslinda Samsu.

He said Sarah would also focus on training for the 4x100m event with coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim before going to the biennial games.

At the previous edition in Hanoi, Sarah won bronze with the women’s sprint quartet, but brilliantly brought home the gold medal for pole vault. — Bernama