KUCHING: Sarawak athletes excelled on the first day of the track and field competition, not only securing an expected gold from Jonah Chang in the shot put but also delivering several surprises that could influence the remaining three days of events.
In the shot put event, Jonah received significant coverage from national and local media, surpassing even the attention given to Danish Ithihar Muhd Rosli of Johor, who won the 100m in a relatively slow time of 10.51 seconds, in the absence of Olympian Azeem Fahmi.
The biggest surprise for Sarawak came not just from Ormilla Octavia Coddy’s bronze medal in the 100m but also from Dylan Leo Saran Stephen, who made it to the finals and narrowly missed a podium finish, placing fourth with a time of 10.68 seconds.
“Jonah and Ormilla’s performances on the first day were expected, but the unexpected medal came from the women’s high jump,” a team spokesperson commented.
Lim noted that while he does not anticipate gold on the second day, as key athletes like Jonah and the women’s javelin thrower are not competing, surprises are still possible in several events.
With one gold secured, Sarawak is on track to achieve six more, with expectations that they will come from the women’s hammer throw, Jonah’s discus event, Azrul Badrudin in the pole vault, Ng Jing Xuan in the women’s javelin, and Elaine Wong in the heptathlon.
Events to watch include the 110m hurdles, where Alvine Yapo Zhi Xian may challenge strong competitors from other states, as well as the women’s discus, long jump, and 100m hurdles.
