Record-breaker Russel’s MAF money woes

Mock cheque given but money not paid: Russel at the MAF dinner with (from left) Asian Athletics Association president Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad of Qatar, Karim Ibrahim, and Olympic Council of Malaysia president Mohamad Norza Zakaria.

PETALING JAYA: Are mock cheques presented merely for show and publicity purposes?

Last year, national 200m record holder Russel Alexander Nasir Taib was presented with a mock cheque for RM20,000 to meet training expenses, but has yet to receive the money.

FMT has been informed, however, that the money, from the development programme of the International Association of Athletics Federations, is in the account of the Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF).

Russel said he had only received RM1,000 for breaking the 200m record at the Queensland Track Classic in Brisbane in March last year.

There was national euphoria when he clocked 20.77s to erase Khairul Hafiz Jantan’s national record of 20.90s set at the 2017 Malaysian Open.

Speaking to FMT by phone from Brisbane, Australia, Russel said he had been presented with a mock cheque for RM21,000 from then MAF president Karim Ibrahim in the presence of the media and athletes taking part at the Kuala Lumpur Grand Prix the same month.

Today, Russel cuts a lonely figure and has to fend for himself. He says he has spent more than RM100,000 per year on training since 2015.

He lamented that he has not received a single sen since he started training for Malaysia five years ago, first in Tasmania and now in Brisbane.

Russel only received the occasional reimbursement for trips to Malaysia and two international meets.

Russel trains five times a week on his own, and every fortnight with coach Denise Boyd.

Karim informed FMT that he had requested Russel’s mother, Karen Todkill, to submit Russel’s training programme and expenditure accounts in order to release the RM20,000. Karim, who is Perak AAA president and a MAF council member, said he would assist to resolve the matter.

Russel said: “I am hearing this for the first time, but if that is what they require, it is not a problem. I wonder why they had to tell FMT, when I have been waiting for the last 15 months.

“We had sent three emails to the current MAF president (SM Muthu) to enquire about the outstanding payment but received no response.”

He said his mother received a strange email from MAF general manager, M. Latchumanan, earlier this month asking her to explain what the payments were for. In her email reply, Karen questioned “the long delay for such a simple transaction”.

She stated that Russel, as an elite athlete, deserved better treatment.

Russel also claimed he has been deprived of incentive money for his achievements at the 2018 Malaysia Games in Ipoh.

He was to have received RM1,000 for the bronze in the 200m, and his share of RM500 for the silver in the 4x400m relay.

“I cannot understand why it is so difficult for the Malaysian sports authorities to support me. I have broken the national record and proven that I have potential to go far. I am a Malaysian, who has been training in Australia on my own,” said Russell who is of Malaysian-English parentage.

He said he trained five days a week by himself, and every fortnight under his Australian coach, Denise Boyd who won the 200m gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games.

Russel thinks he has done well without running mates, and without the benefits of sports science and medicine.

Russel with his mentors, Neville Sillitoe and Denise Boyd in Melbourne. In the background is a statue of Australian 200m great Peter Norman.

“Imagine how far I can go with proper support. I have been making sacrifices and training hard to make the Olympics one day,” said Russel.

Asked why he has not signed a training contract with the National Sports Council, he said the contract sent to him was in Bahasa Malaysia, “which they knew I could not read”.

He said they later sent a version in English but it was for an athlete living in Malaysia. “They did not think of my circumstances being in Australia,” said Russel, who is studying sports psychology at the University of Sunshine Coast.

Russel’s talent was spotted when he was 12 by Australian coach Neville Sillitoe, who had coached Australian sprinter Peter Norman who won the 200m sprint silver at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. Norman gained world fame as the white athlete on the podium alongside gold medallist Tommie Smith and bronze medallist John Carlos, both of the US, when they displayed the Black Power salute at the victory ceremony. - FMT