He can’t be sidetracked

Then and now: Malaysia’s Rosman Alwi outsprints South Africa’s Rezahn Jordaan in the men’s 200m sprint final at the Velodrome Rakyat in Ipoh in this 1997 photo. A recent picture of Rosman (below, right) during treatment for his sciatica problem.

IT was just before the 1981 SEA Games in Manila that I took medication for a bad cough. Little did I know that not only would it change my cycling career, it would also alter my life.

I was overjoyed when I bagged a gold in the 200m sprint and a bronze in the 1km time trial. But a few days later, to my horror, I was stripped of the medals because my dope test came back positive.