In the MSSM meet which is the main production line for the country’s future track and field stars, Sarawak collected 15 gold, 20 silver and eight bronze medals at the end of competition in Kangar on Saturday.
Last year’s runners-up Perak ended up in the same position with a 13-16-1 haul while the Federal Territories were third on 9-5-10.
The 54th edition of the meet, which was held at Stadium Utama saw a marked improvement from the Under-18 athletes compared to last year.
Last year there were no records from the Under-18 age group but this year five new marks were established in this category.
The Under-15 boys contributed four new records while the Under-12 girls set two.
The best female athlete Noor Shahidatun Nadia Mohd Zuki of Kedah broke the triple jump mark and equalled her record in the long jump en route to the gold medals.
Johorean Iskandar Alwi broke the Asean School Games record in the pole vault with a 4.73m vault and then bagged the bronze in the high jump, to win the boys’ best athlete award.
The big question now is how are the Malaysian Athletic Union (MAU) going to nurture and groom the young talents from the schools?
Are they going to be left on their own or are they going to be roped into a comprehensive training programme to chart a bright future for them in athletics?
There is a sheer lack of talent at senior level going by athletics’ failure to deliver at last November’s SEA Games in Indonesia.
Some MAU officials did get a lot publicity but for the wrong reasons.
MAU and officials at the recently concluded MSSM meet in Kangar must wake up.
The jump pits in the Under-15 2,000m steeplechase had no water because someone forgot to fill them.
It makes one wonder if these officials are able to manage and guide our athletes to greater heights when fundamentals, like water for jump pits, can be completely overlooked.
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