Russel smashes Khairul’s 200m national record Down Under.
Australia-based sprinter smashes national 200m record
KUALA LUMPUR: Youngster Russel Nasir Taib underlined his huge potential when he broke the 200m national record in the Queensland Track Classic in Brisbane.
The Malaysian-born athlete, who is based in Australia, clocked 20.77 to finish second in the event at the State Athletics Facility Stadium yesterday.
His efforts erased the previous record of 20.90 set by Khairul Hafiz Jantan in the Malaysian Open at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in 2017.
Japan’s Kei Takase won the gold in 20.75 while his compatriot Daisuke Miyamoto clocked 20.87 to finish third.
Russell is the fourth national athlete to clock below 21 seconds. Apart from Khairul Hafiz, the others are Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan, who clocked 20.92 in the semi-finals of the 1968 Mexico Olympics, and Azmi Ibrahim, who posted 21.97 in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2001.
Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president Datuk Karim Ibrahim was overjoyed with Russel’s performance.
“I was confident he would break the national record but I never expected him to clock below 20.80s as he is just turning 20,” said Karim.
“We are amazed at his feat as he ran in the 100m barely an hour before breaking the record.”
Russel has now booked a ticket for the Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar (from April 21-24) and surpassed the qualifying mark for the Philippines SEA Games in December. The Games’ mark is 21.22.
“We (MAF) will reward him with RM21,000 for his efforts – RM1,000 for breaking the record and the remainder for his training allowances as he does not have a sponsor,” added Karim.
In other events, national triple jumper Muhd Hakimi Ismail won gold with a season-best 16.47m.
Lee Hup Wei bagged the bronze in the high jump (2.20m) while Nauraj Singh Randhawa, who holds the national record of 2.30m, finished fourth with a poor 2.12m.