Poster boy Russel out to catch the eye for the right reasons.
Poster boy sprinter wants to catch the eye with a medal
EVERY SEA Games needs a poster boy (or poster girl) and sprinter Russel Nasir Taib might just be that man in the Philippines.
The 21-year-old Australian based Malaysian-born certainly has the looks – and the good news is that he is shaping up well too to make a memorable debut at the biennial Games starting next week at the New Clark Stadium.
On Sunday, he clocked 20.99 to win the 200m in the Joanna Stone Shield Athletics meet in Queensland.
Just a week earlier, he bagged the double in the Benita Wills Shield event in Queensland by doing a personal best of 10.42 in the 100m and posting 21.05 in the 200m.
His previous best in the blue-riband event was 10.49, which he did in a competition in Brisbane in March.
Russel will compete in the 200m, 4x100m and 4x100m (mixed relay) events in the SEA Games but he would rather focus on the 200m as he holds the national record of 20.77 and has a good chance of finishing on the podium.
Russel will face a strong challenge from Thailand’s Siripol Punpa, who ran a personal best of 20.76 in the 200m in the Balkan meet in Turkey in July.
Russel said he was quite satisfied with his form in the 200m in recent competitions.
“I’ve been showing steady progress. I did 21.05 in a meet (on Nov 16) before I pulled off 20.99 in the second meet a week later,” said Russel, who is training under Australia’s two-time Olympian Denise Boyd.
“My team and I believe that a medal is a realistic goal, but we have not set any specific time to beat.
“I aim to give the best result I possibly can on the day.
“Wearing the national running vest and representing Malaysia is a great boost and hopefully with that mixed with my current training, it will lead to a successful outcome,” said Russel.
Russel, however, is aware that the 200m race will not be a walk in the park.
“There are a handful of sprinters, who have completed 200m under 21 seconds. It will be a competitive event but I look forward to challenging myself.
“There is still a couple of days before I compete, so I don’t think about the race too much. I choose to work on my daily processes leading to Manila,” said Russel, who is pursuing a degree in sports psychology at Sunshine Coast University.
He will arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 4 and will compete in the 200m on Dec 7.
“I’m excited to compete in my first SEA Games with my fellow teammates. It’s a new experience,” said Russel, who will compete together with teammate Jonathan Nyepa in the 200m in the Games.