Muhammad Azeem Fahmi, a teenage sprinting phenom, ran the fastest 100m ever by a Malaysian athlete on Sunday in a scorching 10.09 seconds.
Free Malaysia Today reported that the 18-year-old broke the previous national mark of 10.18, established by Khairul Hafiz Jantan in 2016, with an incredible victory in the final heat of the 100 meters at the World Athletics Under-20 Championship in Cali, Colombia.
Even more amazing is the fact that Azeem’s winning sprint was faster than his previous best of 10.28 from the Perak Open in June.
Despite having just endured the 48-hour trip to Cali, Azeem displayed no signs of jet lag and made no mistakes while making his entrance on the international scene as the fourth-fastest young man in Asia in the 100- and 200-meter races.
Azeem goes into the semi-finals tomorrow as the second best among the 60 sprinters in eight heats, the fastest being Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo who posted 10.0, while Hanoi Sea Games 100m gold medallist Puripol Boonson, 16, of Thailand, was third quickest with 10.20.
In the event that Azeem advances to the final, he will return to the starting line roughly three hours after the semi-finals. On the following day, he competes in the 200-meter heats, where his personal best is 20.89.
