Azeem shows courage but misses the mark in Kentucky
Malaysian 100m champion Muhd Azeem Fahmi in action during the training session at Zhejing sports complex for 19th Asian Games in China yesterday..28/09//2023/S.S.Kanesan/The Star.
PETALING JAYA: National sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi (pic) showed courage despite a slight hamstring pain to compete in the men's 100m event at the Southeastern Conference Championship but it was not good enough to book a place in the final.
Azeem posted 10.35s after running into headwind at the University of Kentucky Track in Lexington, Kentucky yesterday to finish third in the second heat, behind teammate Kanyisola Ajayi (10.15s) and Florida University's Jaden Wiley (10.26s).
If the conditions had been favourable to Azeem, he would have recorded below 10.30s, but it still would not have been enough to qualify for the final as only the nine fastest from the heats qualify.
He will now gear up to compete in today's 4x100m relay final as he is among the four fastest Auburn University athletes in the 100m.
'I took a week off and ran into a headwind,' he said.
'But it is good to be on track again (after skipping training for a week). I hope to help the team win another medal in the relay.'
Auburn are targeting their third gold of the season in the 4x100m relay in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
In the Louisiana State University Championships, Azeem teamed up with Israel Okon, Dario Matau, and Makanakaishe Charamba to clock a blistering 38.49s - the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this year.
They also topped the podium at the Tom Jones Invitational on April 19 with an even faster time of 38.39s.
Azeem, who holds the national 100m record of 10.09s set at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia, is chasing a sub-10s time to secure a spot in the World Championships in September.
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