‘Records are there to be broken’: ex-national sprinter Noraseela

KUALA LUMPUR – 16 years since she set the time of 54.58s for the 400m indoor event, former national sprinter and hurdles runner Noraseela Mohd Khalid has had her national record broken by rising star Shereen Samson Vallabouy.

“It’s been so long since I broke the record, I’ve honestly forgotten that I was still the record holder until recently,” she told The Vibes.

Last week, Shereen broke the record held by Noraseela with a time of 53.79s at the US National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at Pittsburg State University in Kansas, USA.

Noraseela commends the 25-year-old athlete for her achievement and hopes to see her excel further in the sport.

“It makes me proud that someone has broken my national record – records are there to be broken.

“And she (Shereen) did this in the US, where the athletics level is much higher.

“If the same record still stands after ten-plus years, then it shows that something is wrong.

“It could be that there is no proper development in the sport − lack of training − from a physical and technical standpoint,” she said.

Noraseela, who also ran in the outdoor 400m event, said the difference between running outdoors and indoors is vast.

“Honestly, running indoors is much harder than doing it outside.

“The track is narrower and the curves are sometimes elevated − making it more difficult for runners,” she added.

When she made her record-breaking run in Leipzig, Germany in 2006, she had no choice but to do it indoors.

Noraseela also specialised in the hurdles event and said if Shereen can pull off such an astonishing time indoors, then her running time for the 400m outdoors would be far more impressive.

“She (Shereen) had to do two laps indoors for 400m.

“I won’t be surprised if she manages to reach the low 53s if she gets to run outdoors,” Noraseela added.

Noraseela won gold for the 400m hurdles event at the 1999, 2003, 2009 and 2011 SEA Games.

She currently still holds the national record for the indoor 800m with a time of 2.12.45s set in Chemnitz, Germany in 2005 and for the outdoor 400m hurdles with a time of 56.02s set in Regensburg, Germany in 2006. – The Vibes, March 17, 2022