KUALA LUMPUR – National sprinter Shereen Samson Vallabouy smashed a 30-year-old 400m national record after she clocked a time of 51.80s in the first heat of the St Mac Relays in the United States yesterday.
The 24-year-old Winona State University student had broken the previous 400m outdoor record of 52.56s set by the late Rabia Abdul Salam at the 1993 Asian Championships in Manila, Philippines.
Shereen won the first heat of the competition at the Mt San Antonio College in Walnut, California, but finished fifth overall in the event with Texas A&M University’s Jermaisha Arnold and Tierra Robinson-Jones taking the top two spots with their time of 50.79s and 51.01s respectively.
University of Southern California’s Jan’Taijah Jones came in third with her time of 51.06s, followed by University of Michigan’s Ziyah Holman in fourth with 61.60s.
Shereen’s time of 51.80s shows promise for her to claim gold at the upcoming Cambodia SEA Games from May 5 to 17 where she will be competing in the 400m and 4x400m events.
The current SEA Games record for the 400m event is held by Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tinh after she clocked 51.83s at the 2003 SEA Games in Hanoi.
Last month, Shereen had set the national indoor 400m record with her time of 52.27s at the Division II Track and Field Championships in Virginia, USA, already dipping below Rabia’s outdoor record.
Shereen had previously clocked 52.87s in Chicago, Illinois in February, breaking her national indoor record of 53.47s set at the Bearson Gathje Classics in Minnesota in January. – The Vibes, April 16, 2023
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