Miri lead MSSS athletics championship

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Wong Siew Hung of Sarikei threw the hammer to a distance of 59.47m to break the national and state meet records. — Photos by Helen Tang

SIBU: Five more records were rewritten as Miri took over from Kuching as the new leader on the third day of the 43rd Sarawak Schools Sports Council (MSSS) Track and Field Championship at Stadium Tun Zaidi yesterday.

This has brought the number of new records at the annual state athletics meet to 14 so far.

Strongman Wong Siew Hung from Sarikei stole the limelight when he cracked the national and state records in the men’s open hammer throw with a spectacular throw of 59.57m.

The record erased the national mark of 57.63m and the state record of 53.63m, both set by his mentor Jackson Wong Cheun Young last year.

Jackson was unable to compete in the championship as he was over-aged and all eyes were on Siew Hung to deliver.

The 18-year-old student of SM Ming Lik did not disappoint the crowd and he hit the record in his very first throw. The rest of the throws were irrelevant.

MSSS Sarikei coach for throw events Ling Neng Thung said the record was more or less expected as Siew Hung had been hitting 58m regularly during his practice.

“Siew Hung is a very hardworking and committed boy and all credits to him for finally inking his name in the record book,” Ling said.

He said Siew Hung, who always played second fiddle when Jackson was around, could finally make an impact in the hammer throw event.

At the last MSSM championship, Siew Hung hit 54m to return with the second placing after Jackson.

His next big event is the Kuching Junior on April 19 and the MSSM meet in Melaka on May 10.

Besides Siew Hung, Sarikei’s SMK Tinggi student Ngu Ing Biao also hit stardom yesterday with his record throw in the Boys U15 discus.

Ing Biao heaved the discus to a new distance of 54.15m, thus eclipsing the old mark of 52.81m set by Johnny Ling Siew Hong last year.

Samuel Ling from Miri was second, with a throw of 44.31m, followed by Kuching’s Muhd Nornazrin Nurudin in third place with 40.52m.

Rising star for throw event Ing Piao had also promised himself to crack the record and he achieved his dream. Last year, he took part in Sibu Open and returned with the gold medal, though falling short of rewriting the record.

Ling, however, expressed disappointment over national athlete Queenie Ting Kung Nie for failing to break the record in the Girls U18 discus.

Queenie failed to improve on her own mark of 40.99m registered last year as she could managed only 40.16m.

“I have not been training for the past few days due to my studies,” said the robust 18-year-old form five student of SMK Tinggi.

Still, Queenie was happy with her overall performance. Her nearest challenger, Florence Wong, also from Sarikei could only achieve a throw of 29.26m, followed by Sibu’s Betty Hoong with 28.79m.

Another record breaker Ruby Lee Jia Lu from Miri won the Girls U14 triple jump with a distance of 10.6m to erase the old record of 10.47m set by Liew See Yee in 2012.

Sibu’s Malvina Sereena Danniel Benjamin and teammate Ellisy Soldadu registered 9.92m and 9.66m respectively to take the second and third spots.

Sibu’s Mcclair Jenggut rewrote the record in the Boys U15 triple jump with a new distance of 13.86m, beating the old mark of 13.66m set by Kong Yung Hui in 1997.

The 18-year-old record was thus far the second oldest record of the championship to be rewritten.

Limbang’s Madalina Mimi Angga had on the first day shattered the Girls U12 long jump record with a leap of 4.77m to erase the 36-year old record of 46.2m set by Chan Yen Lan in 1979.

The record also caught the attention of MSSS technical committee chairman Ting Siew Nguiong who described Madalina as a champion in the making.

Over at the track, star hurdler Quek Lee Yong and state sprinter Noris Foo continued to rule the lanes, both producing superb form in their respective events.

Quek, representing Sibu, clocked 53.8s in the Boys U18 400m hurdles to rewrite his own record of 54.88s set in Kuching last year.

Quek was in a class of his own as his nearest challenger Roslan Sulaiman could only master a time of 56.8s to take the silver.

“It was a good record and I had been eyeing for it since the beginning of this year. I am glad that I have finally made it,” he added.

Norris continued her fine run to take the gold medal in the Girls U18 200m.

Meanwhile, in the overall standings, Miri overhauled Kuching for the first time, accumulating 309 points with 18 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze medals.

Kuching, with 21 gold, 17 silver and 17 bronze medals, was in a distant second with 283 points, followed by Sibu with 215 points, Sarikei (162) and Kapit (88).