Foo’s extraordinary feat

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RECORD-BREAKING FEAT: Norris Foo of Sibu (right) won the Girls Under 15 100m sprint in a record time of 11.87s at MSSS Track and Field Championship held in Bintulu yesterday.

State girl Under-15 sprinter breaks 13-year-old national record

KUCHING: State sprinter Norris Foo shocked the local athletics fraternity when she clocked a record breaking time of 11.87s in the Girls Under 15 100m race at the Sarawak Schools Sports Council (MSSS) Track and Field Championship held in Bintulu yesterday.

Her timing overshadowed the 13-year-old national mark of 12.37s set by Siti Fatimah of Johor in 2000 and the state record of 12.7s set by Kee Siew Lian of Miri in 2007.

The feat became a hot topic among the coaches and officials at the meet who felt that Foo could get a national call up and possibly compete in the coming SEA Games.

The 15-year-old former SMK Elisabeth is now studying at SMK Tabuan Jaya sports school and said that she could not believe her eyes when the time result was shown.

According to Foo, it was normal for her to do a 12s run and this was the first time that she had dipped below that mark.

“My only thought during the race was just to complete it in just one breathe and I never thought I could record such a good time,” said the elated runner after the race.

Despite all the excitement, Foo’s record will not be recognised by the Malaysian Amateur Athletics Union (MAAU) because she had to achieve such feat when competing in an national meet and breaking a similar record.

“Due to the venue (Sarawak) and technical factors, we cannot say that athletes had broken a national record…we can only say that they have surpassed the national record,” said Sarawak Amateur Athletics Association (SAAA) secretary Leong Beng Keong.

He added that Foo must register such a record time in a national competition for it to be inked in the national records book.