German sprint stars storm into KL for Merdeka test
The German squad, using Malaysia as a training base ahead of next month's World Athletics Relay Championships in Guangzhou, will be led by Owen Ansah, the first German to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m.
Ansah clocked 9.99s at the German Championships in Braunschweig last June, and will line up in both the 100m and 4x100m relay.
Joining him are fellow speedsters Lucas Ansah-Peprah (PB 10.00), Yannick Wolf (10.08) and Julian Wagner (10.11), all set to compete in both the individual sprint and relay events.
It will be an ideal benchmark for local stars Khairul Hafiz Jantan, Jonathan Nyepa, Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam, and Malaysia Games champion Danish Iftikhar Roslee, as they aim to match up against elite opposition.
The German men's and women's teams have been training in Malaysia for the past three weeks as part of their final preparations for the World Relays in China on May 10-11.
In the women's 100m, national record holder Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli (PB 11.49) will face a strong field, including Germany's top sprinter Sina Mayer, who holds the national record at 11.25.
She will be joined by Sophia Junk, Rebekka Haase and Lisa Mayer, who are also slated to run in both the individual and relay events.
Malaysia Athletics technical director John Ballard said the meet, which kicks off the local athletics season, will offer invaluable experience.
"It's a great opportunity for our sprinters to line up against top-tier athletes from Germany," said Ballard.
"Our runners are using this competition as part of their build-up for the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea from May 27-31."
However, in a strategic move, the German men's sprinters will only run in the 100m semi-finals and sit out the final, in a bid to conserve energy for the World Relays.
"The Germans will also field two teams each in the men's and women's 4x100m relays at this weekend's meet," added the Australian coach.
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