KUALA LUMPUR — National sprinting sensation Muhammad Azeem Fahmi has been chosen to receive the Special 100PLUS award.
The Sportswriters Association of Malaysia (SAM)-100PLUS 2022 award will be held on August 29.
F&N Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd’s Government & Industry Relations and Halal Affairs director Datuk Raffiq Md Ariff said the consistent performances and achievement of Azeem since his involvement in track and field since the age of 14, has been outstanding.
“We are witnessing a new star emerging in the track and field competition after the country’s golden era in the 90s that featured big names like former national 100m holder Watson Nyambek and Azmi Ibrahim.
“Both sprinters had continuously brought honours to the country.
“We hope that awarding the honour to Azeem would motivate him to continue his excellent performances in athletics and make the country proud,” he said in a statement issued by SAM today.
The former student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunung Rapat in Ipoh who had achieved 6As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, finished in fifth place during the 100m sprint final at the Under-20 World Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia last August.
At the same event, Azeem also set a new national record in the 100m category with a time of 10.09s, erasing the 10.18s mark held by Khairul Hafiz Jantan.
Described as ‘Usain Bolt Malaysia’ the sprinter who is pursuing his studies at Auburn University, Alabama in the US, had within a month set a time of 6.63s in the 60m to erase the 24-year old 60m national record of 6.66s set by Watson Nyambek during the 1999 World Championships in Japan.
Meanwhile, also in the spotlight at the award ceremony will be the title of Best Athlete and Best Para Athlete 2022 with candidates comprising a line-up of world champions and world-class performers who had hoisted the country’s name on the international stage last year.
Apart from recognising and honouring athletes who excel in their respective sports as well as for bringing fame and honour to the country throughout last year, sportswriters in the country will also stand a chance to win a slice of the RM50,000 prize money during the 2022 SAM-100PLUS 2022 Awards.
A total of six categories are up for grabs namely Best News Report (Print Media), Best News Report (Electronic Media), Best News Review (Print Media), Best News Review (Electronic Media), Best Special Report (Open) and Best Sports Photography.
The overall best winner for the Sports Journalism category will be crowned the recipient of the Siebel Award with a cash prize of RM7,000 and a trophy. — August 27, 2023