Huong Leong turns record-breaker again in Tokyo

KUALA LUMPUR: The Tokyo Marathon is turning out to be a good hunting ground for long distance runner Tan Huong Leong.

The Malaysian, who is working and staying in Taiwan, has shattered the 42km national marathon record twice in Tokyo within two years.

The 29-year-old Huong Leong, who finished fourth in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last August, clocked 2’25:28 to finish 57th. He improved his record by more than two minutes.

Last year, the runner from Johor Baru clocked 2’28:19.

Then, his effort bettered the previous national mark of 2’28:36 set by Woo Chan Yew in a marathon in Montreal, Canada, in 2010.

National chief coach Zainal Abbas was impressed with Huong Leong’s achievement in the marathon.

“It’s a remarkable outing by Huong Leong to break his national record twice in two years,” said Zainal.

“Kudos to him for improving his time. This augurs well for his career in running.

“It’s also a boost for Huong Leong’s preparation for next year’s SEA Games in the Philippines. We hope that he’ll be able to clock a good time in the Games next year.

“We have another good marathon runner Muhaizar Mohamad, who bagged a bronze in the SEA Games last year. We hope the two will do well at next year’s SEA Games,” said Zainal.

Meanwhile, the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) have given the green light to 12 athletes, comprising 11 men and one woman, to feature in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, from April 4-15.

They are Muhd Irfan Shamsuddin (discus), Muhd Hakimi Ismail (triple jump), Nauraj Singh Randhawa (high jump), Lee Hup Wei (high jump), Iskandar Alwi (pole vault), Jackie Wong Siew Cheer (hammer), Khairul Hafiz Jantan (100m, 4x100m), Jonathan Nyepa (4x100m), Nixson Kennedy (4x100m), Badrul Hisyam Abdul Manap (4x100m) and Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian (110m hurdles) while the sole woman representative is Chua Yu Tian (pole vault). Irfan, Hakimi and Nauraj are Podium Programme athletes.