Kota Kinabalu: Dr Alison Chew is eager to continue her momentum after setting personal best times in the 400-metre and 400-metre hurdles events at the World Masters Athletics Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden last month.
In her maiden appearance at the championship, the 41-year-old mother of three competed in the women’s 40-44 age group and managed to qualify for the 400m hurdles final and finished in a respectable sixth place with a personal best time of 70.49 seconds.
Her personal best time of 61.85s in the 400m was achieved in the semi-final but she narrowly missed the cut to the final.
She said the experience of taking part in the championship among the world top athletes for the first time was an eye-opener for her.
“The recent WMAC 2024 has opened my eyes to a new horizon. It was an absolute privilege to compete with people who are so strong from all around the world.
They showed me what people at my age are capable of achieving.
“I am glad to have set a new personal best in both the 400m and 400m hurdles events in my first World Masters Athletics Championship.
“This championship has challenged me to keep on training and get better. If others can do it, so can I, well, at least I try to.
“It has given me a goal that I can set my eyes on for my future competitions. I’ll just keep giving my best, whether or not I can achieve them, at least I will give it a try,” she said.
She has also made plans to take part in two overseas competitions next year starting in May at the Summer World Masters Games in Chinese Taipei followed by the Asia Masters Athletics Championship tentatively scheduled in September to be hosted by Indonesia.
Her next local event is at the Sabah Masters Open in Keningau next weekend (September 21-22) which is expected to draw participants from the Peninsula, Brunei and Singapore.
