Arif shatters 14-year-old MSSS record

0

OUTSTANDING FEAT: Mohd Arif with his father Alet Ali (right) and coach Mohd Ali Seruji after collecting his gold medal.

KUCHING: A 14-year-old Sarawak Schools Sports Council (MSSS) Track and Field Championship record was shattered as seven more meet records tumbled on the second day of 47th MSS Kuching Track and Field Championship at the State Stadium here yesterday.

Achieving this outstanding feat in the Boys U-18 400m was 17-year-old Mohd Arif Zulhilmi Alet from SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg who clocked 49.40s in the 400m to finish way ahead of his rivals.

Apart from erasing the old state record of 50.06s held by Patrick Jimbun Sibi of Miri since 1997, Mohd Arif also bettered his own meet record of 51.30s for the Boys U-18 400m set here last year.

“I was targeting to break the record I set last year and I am very happy to achieve my target because I was also aiming to go under 50 seconds in the race,” he said when interviewed after receiving his gold medal.

Mohd Arif’s is next eyeing to break the national record of 47.50s in the state level track and field championship to be held in Miri from April 11-14.

He won the silver in the last year’s state meet held here in a time of 51.30s and was the U-15 gold medallist in the divisional meet in 2009 where he clocked 55.10s.

A year earlier, he won the 400m silver in the U-14 category in 59.40s.

His teammate Mohd Fazillah Khamis also performed well yesterday to win the Boys U-18 110m hurdles in a record time of 14.80s and equal the MSSS record.

The old meet record of 15.24s was set by Lee Hon Boon of SMK Serian in 2001.

Other records of the day were broken by Wingdi Lapuk from SMK Tun Abdul Razak who registered 56:04.1s in the Boys U-18 10,000m walk (old record 56:11.30s), Shelma Sharon Anthony James of SMK Tabuan Jaya who won the Girls U-14 100m hurdles in 16.8s (old record 17.05s), Adam Chisnal Dicky of SMK Tabuan Jaya in the Boys U-14 110m hurdles with a time of 15.40s (old time was 15.88s).

Hardil Haron of SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg broke the Boys U-15 110m hurdles record when he clocked 15.40s to erase the old record of 15.83s set by his schoolmate Mohd Fazillah Khamis last year while SMK Kuching High’s Mohd Shahizzad Shahrazi won the Boys U-15 400m race in a record time of 54.4s to chip off .05s from the old record of 54.45s set by Syukri SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg in 1997.

Eight meet records were broken on the opening day on Tuesday and the record breakers were Mohd Ibrahim Othman of SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg in the Boys U-18 long jump (13.52m), Iskandar Matuhu of SMK Sematan in the Boys U-14 1,500m (4:49.6s), Joel Goh of SM Lodge in the Boys U-15 100m (11.5s), Asfarina Jitwil of SMK Lundu in the Girls U-18 100m (12.9s), Daly Emong Charlie of SMK Tabuan Jaya in the Boys U-18 100m (11.2s), Adam Chisnal Dicky of SMK Tabuan Jaya in the Boys U-14 200m hurdles (28.5s), Hardil Haron of SMK Tun Abang Haji Openg in the Boys U-15 200m hurdles (28.3s) and Shelma Sharon Anthony James of SMK Tabuan Jaya in the Girls U-14 200m hurdles (32.6s).

As at 4.30pm, the State Sports School SMK Tabuan Jaya are leading the championship with 137 points, followed by SMK Bau in second place with 136 points and third SMK Sematan with 127 points.

A total of 1,591 athletes from 50 schools in Kuching Division are competing in the championship that will end tomorrow.