Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Masters Athletics Association (Samas) contributed 13 gold, three silver and three bronze medals to the national squad at the 23rd Asia Masters Athletics Championship held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India recently.
Malaysia finished the competition in seventh place among the 21 countries with a total of 15 golds, five silvers and three bronzes.
Juliana Gumpil competing in the women’s 60-64 category was the toast of the team with four individual golds in the 100m, 80m hurdles, long jump and pole vault with a new meet record as well as winning team gold medals in the 4x100m (55-59) with Raineh Sawan, Jomyta Elon, Erine Sinuel and the 4x400m with Theresa Sidau, Margaret Petrus @ Ain and Erine Sinuel.
Erine also did extremely well with four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles and 300m hurdles in the women’s 55-59 category.
The other gold medals delivered by Samas came from Lee Ngit Yung (75-79) in high jump, Tarmizi Sandhu (70-74) in pole vault and Yusop Tangkob (55-59) in 10km.
The silver medallists were Lee Ngi Yung (hammer throw), Tarmizi Sandhu (javelin) and Mohd Solehen Mohd Noor (high jump), while the bronze medals won by Tarmizi Sandhu (discus), Yusop Tangkob (5,000m) and Margaret Petrus @ Ain (pole vault).
Samas president Ramjit Nairulal said the association is very proud of their achievements representing the country.
“This success is not only for them but also a source of pride for all Sabah and Malaysian masters’ athletes. Their dedication, discipline and fighting spirit are worthy of emulation,” he said.
He also congratulated Juliana, who became the first Malaysian and also Asian to receive a certificate of induction to the WMA (World Masters Association) Gallery of Champions following her bronze medal winning performance at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2024.
Samas was represented by a 20-member squad and the other athletes were Suhaili Saneh, Warohin Rosli, Suzanirihwati Abd Ghani, Magdalini Hillary Panggau, Linah Ikun, Laura Dosui, Jessie Manjin, Anny Michael Nanak and Helena Majalang.
