Olympian Annie Choong was inducted into the OCM Hall of Fame in 2017. - Pix from Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM)
PETALING JAYA: Track queen Annie Choong, the first Malaysian woman to represent the country in the Olympic Games, has passed away on Saturday (Nov 2).
Annie was 90.
She paved the way for Malaysian female athletes when she donned national colours at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games by competing in the women's 100m.
At 22, she was the first and only female competing in the Melbourne Games for Malaysia, then known as Malaya.
Since then, many female athletes, including former greats like Datuk B. Rajamani, Datuk Marina Chin, Datuk Zaiton Othman and the current batches led by Pandelela Rinong, have followed her path to compete at the highest levels of sports.
In fact, diver Pandelela did the country proud by being the first woman to win a medal at the Olympic Games. She won bronze at the 2012 London edition before delivering a silver at the 2016 Rio edition.
Said Marina: "I respect her as one of the early female athletes, who paved the way for us women."
Annie also competed in the second and third editions of the Asian Games in 1954 (Manila) and 1958 (Tokyo). She qualified for the 100m final at the Tokyo Asiad and finished 6th with a time of 12.9s.
She was inducted into the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) Hall of Fame in 2017.
Legendary men sprinter Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan said Annie had made a difference in many aspiring young athletes.
"Sad to lose one of the country's early sports women of standing. I remember her when I was a 13-year-old kid watching her and my brother Hari Chandra amongst others boarding planes for the Melbourne Olympics representing the British colony of Malaya," said the three-time Olympian.
Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) general manager Nurhayati Karim expressed her condolences.
"The Malaysian Athletics Federation express their condolences to the family of the late Annie Choong on her passing," said Nurhayati.
"She was a trailblazing Malaysian track and field athlete, the first to represent Malaysia in the Olympics.
"The late Annie made history by competing in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, paving the way for future generations of Malaysian female athletes. She was known for her speed and fighting spirit on the athletics stage.
"May her family be granted strength in facing this difficult time, and may her contributions continue to be remembered in the world of Malaysian sports."
