He continues to roar
Birthday boy azeem rewrites season best at Tiger Tracks Classic
PETALING JAYA: National sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi could only finish 13th overall in the 100m dash at the Louisiana State University (LSU) invitational but he still had a smile on his face.
Azeem, who turns 20 today, rewrote his season best when he posted a time of 10.24s in the heats, breaking his previous time of 10.31s in the Tiger Track Classic last week.
He is happy to see improvement in every race and feels his confidence is slowly coming back.
“I’m coming out of my gloomy days. That is a relief,” said the national record holder, who clocked 10.09s in the 2022 World Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia.
“Many would say that it is just a regular time but trust me, the time I posted in Louisiana means a lot to me. I’m finally getting my confidence back.
“I’m not concerned about the placing but the aim is to continue reducing the time in every race.”
Azeem said every race is a learning process and believed that he had picked up pointers to run even faster in the next race, which is the SEC Championships in Florida next month.
“My second half of my race was good but I could not execute my start well in Louisiana. I will continue to talk to my coach about it.
“It has got to do with my psyche, especially after what happened in the 2022 SEA Games (disqualified for false start). I have two weeks of training to be mentally and physically ready before the next race.
“Last year in the SEC Championships, I set my second fastest time, which is 10.11s. Hopefully, I can do something special there.
“I just have to stay positive and hope everything falls into place.”
LSU’S Godson Oghenebrume won the 100m dash with a time of 10.00s, while Azeem’s teammate and close friend Kanyinsola Ajayi was second with his personal best of 10.06s. Another LSU athlete Myles Thomas was third with a time of 10.07s.
Azeem said he was not surprised with the times set by the Nigerian.
“Africans are so different, especially Ajayi. He is lucky because he does not only have Favour Ashe as his Nigerian teammate but there are several other athletes from his nation too. So he feels at home,” said Azeem.
“Plus, the work he puts in is immense. His strength is way better than mine and I believe he will hit faster times soon.
“With this kind of training group, I feel the need to work harder because I do not want to be left behind. I am learning a lot from these athletes.”
Azeem’s dream this year is to qualify for the Olympics on merit. The entry standard approved by World Athletics (WA) for the Paris Olympics is 10s, which is 0.09s faster than Azeem’s best time.
If he fails to improve, he can qualify as one of the top 48 in the Road to Paris rankings. Azeem is currently 39th and the deadline to qualify via this avenue is June 30.
The third and last option to get a ticket is through a wildcard.