SHEREEN HAS ONE LAST CHANCE TO MAKE THE CUT FOR PARIS OLYMPICS

KUANTAN, June 15 (Bernama) -- National women's 400-metre (m) runner Shereen Samson Vallabouy has just one more chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics after clocking 52.45 seconds (s) to win the event at the Malaysian Open Athletics Championships at the Darul Makmur Stadium here today.

To qualify for the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Olympics, she has to clock at least 50.95s. And she has only the Kazakhstan Open in Almaty on June 23-24 to achieve that.

Shereen knows the score and admits that, although she emerged victorious here, she is far from pleased with the time she posted.

"I've just returned from the United States and had enough time to regain my fitness. To qualify (for the Olympics), I have to clock at least 50.95s but I was nowhere near it today.

"I also tried to go faster but I had no one to push me and it felt like I was running on my own out there,” she told reporters.

In the women's 400m final, Johor's Nurul Aliah Maisarah Nor (57.18s) and Armed Forces’ Nurul Faizal Asma Mazlan (57.61s) came in second and third respectively.

To prepare for the Kazakhstan Open, the 25-year-old Perak-born Shereen said she will undergo a more thorough training regime to ensure she can qualify for the Olympics.

"To me, it all boils down to the championships in Kazakhstan as it is my last chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics,” she said.

Shereen had previously broken the national 400m record when she posted 51.79s to finish second in the Music City Track Carnival in Tennessee, the United States.

The three-day Malaysian Open Athletics Championships, which began yesterday (June 14), features 578 athletes from 17 domestic teams and eight foreign teams, including Australia and Russia.

-- BERNAMA