KUANTAN – It was a bittersweet moment for Malaysia’s 400m sprinter Shereen Samson Vallabouy as she failed to improve her time despite winning the Malaysia Open Championships held in Kuantan today.
In the final race at Darul Makmur Stadium, the Perak-born athlete started strong, easily surpassing all seven other runners in the first 80m to take an early lead.
Shereen continued to distance herself from the pack, but her promising start did not translate into her best time, as she finished with a time of 52.45sec.
This was far from her national record of 51.80sec set just two weeks ago at the Music City Track Carnival in Tennessee, USA.
Shereen acknowledged that her body was not in peak condition as she had just returned from the United States, which prevented her from achieving a better time to enhance her chances for the Paris Olympics.
She even felt the effects during yesterday’s semi-final when she clocked 55.44sec.
“I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied or that the timing was close to my expectation. I just returned from the United States on Sunday, and perhaps I needed more time to recover.
“I’m not completely happy because I want to improve and do better.
“Next week, I’ll be going to Kazakhstan and aiming for a time of 51sec or below. I’m still optimistic because this is not my last chance for Paris.
“I think my execution was very good, and that’s how I normally run. According to my coach, my time for the first 200m was around 23sec, which is quite good for me.
“I was really pushing myself, but running alone without competitors to push me affected the momentum. However, it felt like a strong race, and I believe I could have given more.”
The silver medal went to Nurul Aliah Maisarah Nor from Johor, while Faizah Asma Mazlan representing the Malaysian Armed Forces took the bronze.
Shereen’s last opportunity now lies in the Kazakhstan Open next week, where she not only needs to win but also strives for a better time to improve her world ranking.
Currently ranked 66th in the world, Shereen must achieve at least 48th place to qualify for Paris.
“To qualify based on standard time, I need to achieve 50.95sec, and today’s timing is far from that.
“I know I did around 51sec just two weeks ago, so it’s all about the mental game and if I can focus and recover well for Kazakhstan, I hope to achieve that (to qualify for Paris).
“Even if I don’t, I hope to surpass my personal records,” she added. – 15 June, 2024