KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh will hold a meeting with Shereen Samson Vallabouy next Tuesday to discuss the needs and welfare of the national athlete.
Hannah said Shereen, 25, who was born in Ipoh, Perak and is currently a student athlete at Winona State University in Minnesota, the United States, has shown excellent improved performance.
In this regard, she said the Youth and Sports Ministry wants to provide support to athletes like Shereen.
“However, the form of assistance that will be given is still being discussed at the ministry level first. The meeting next week (Tuesday) will be held at the ministry, and after that we will update the media,” she told reporters after launching the 2023 Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon here today.
Yesterday, a news portal reported that Josephine Mary, the mother of the national 400m runner, said Shereen is facing problems with financing her training and staying in Florida as the sponsorship from the Better Malaysia Foundation is expected to only be enough for up to December, given her efforts to grab a slot in the 2024 Olympic Games.
Shereen will be moving to Florida in June after her last semester at Winona State University for an internship and further training under coach Derrick White.
On April 16, Shereen broke the national 400m record held by the late Rabia Abdul Salam in 51.80s at the 63rd Annual Mt SAC Relays Athletics Championship in California.
Shereen has broken the 400m indoor national record four times, with the last gold medal won at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia last May.
She is also one of the country’s representatives who will take on the 400m and 4x400m events at the Cambodia SEA Games in May.
Touching on the 15th edition of KLSCM scheduled to take place at Dataran Merdeka on September 30 and October 1, Hannah said it is a good effort to attract Malaysians to participate in healthy activities through the various categories contested.
Meanwhile, KLSCM project director Rainer Biemans said a total of 40,000 participants are estimated to join this season.
“We are delighted to receive the Road Race label from World Athletics, which is a stamp of approval that will give runners the added confidence that they are registering for an internationally recognised event,” Rainer said. – Bernama, April 28, 2023
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