Kota Kinabalu: Two teenagers from Special Olympics Malaysia Sabah defied the odds to win three historic individual gold medals in the World Winter Games 2017 held in Ramsau, Austria last week.It was extraordinary for 17-year-old Noryshuhadatul Aulia and 15-year-old Noraini Zakaria, both from Sandakan to pull off such feats on the world stage as they had never seen snow before and furthermore they only got to train on dry land.Noryshuhadatul won her two golds in the Snowshoeing race female division mixed age group 13-20 years 100m and 200m events while Noraini captured the Snowshoeing race female division 12-15 years 200m title.
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They also won a team bronze in the 4 x100m Snowshoeing relay in the mixed group division with fellow Malaysians Danish Rosli and Mohd Umar Hafiy Mohd Firuz. Noraini also missed the podium in the 100m with a fourth place finish.Head coach Maria Chang who accompanied the duo to the meet which started on March 14 until March 25 said they spent three-four months to prepare the two athletes.
"It took us three to four months to prepare them for the competition. We were supposed to train on the beach and in shallow water but the plan was aborted following the advice by a former Police commander who said it was unsafe for us."So we only trained at the Sports Complex, running up and down the staircase as well as running up the school's hill. That was how we trained them," she said upon her arrival with the two athletes on Monday night.
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She also said the two on their maiden flight away from home only saw snowshoes for the first time upon their arrival at the venue in Ramsau, which was a four-hour drive from Vienna."Apart from seeing snow for the first time of their life, they only got to wear the shoes on the day that they arrived and only had few hours to try on before the divisioning took place on the next day to determine their age group, gender and ability for the competition.'
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According to her, the two athletes had no problem in coping with the bulky clothing and unfamiliar shoes under the extreme cold weather during the competition."It was cold for them but there was no major issue. It was only during the divisioning of the 200m events that Noraini fainted because she did not heed the advice and did not to cover the side of her face."She added that the two were selected for the special task based on their performance during the State games."The selection was a step by step process and these two athletes were competing in the sports meets organised by us."We were impressed with their stamina and the time achieved in the sprint events during the State games. Apart from that we also checked on the parents' background to ensure they have the right criteria," she added.Meanwhile, Special Olympics Sabah Chairman Datuk Safari Manan who was at the KKIA with other officials to welcome the Sabah contingent said they hope the two athletes will get incentives from the government."We will submit a report to the Ministry and let them consider, but I believe they should be recognised for their effort in putting Sabah on the world map."
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Safari also disclosed that they may send athletes to compete in the floorball event apart from the Snowshoeing in the next games scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi in two years time.For the record, Joanna Cherlyn from Kota Kinabalu finished fifth in the Snowshoeing event in the previous Games held in Korea two years ago. - GL Oh
