PETALING JAYA: US-based Shereen Samson Vallabouy set a new national record with a time of 51.8s in the women’s 400m yesterday to break the previous mark set 30 years ago.
The 25-year-old, competing at the St Mac Relays at Mt San Antonio College in California, bettered the 52.56s Rabia Salam ran in 1993.
Running for Winona State University in lane nine, the poster girl of Malaysian athletics packed a scorching pace to finish first in her heat, beating several division one runners.
She finished fifth overall in the run-up to the final tomorrow, with the top runner in the heats clocking 50.79s.
Shereen’s time also topped the SEA Games record of 51.83, making her a strong bet for the gold medal at the biennial meet in Cambodia next month.
It’s a family affair in the national ranking, with her Olympian mother Josephine Mary now dropping one place to be the third fastest in the race at 52.65s.
Ipoh-born Shereen, the late Rabia and Josephine are the only Malaysian female athletes to dip below 53 seconds in the 400m.
She is now the holder of the national records in outdoor and indoor 400m, an unparalleled feat for a woman in Malaysian athletics history.
Shereen has shattered her own national indoor record four times in about a year, and her time of 52.56 makes her the first Malaysian woman to go under 53 seconds in the event.
She is also the fastest 200m female runner in the country with a time of 23.52s.
“This girl’s on fire,” said Josephine Mary. “I am glad she’s running every race faster, and dreaming big.
“God has blessed her abundantly, and there’s no stopping her now.”
Her coach Mason Rebarchek said: “Shereen has been working so hard, and has done a fine job doing all the little things it takes to continue training hard and staying healthy.
“After her fast indoor time we knew she could get under 52 seconds outdoors. She did a great job today executing the race strategy the way we’ve talked about. I’m very happy for her and so proud.”
Shereen is doing a degree in recreation and tourism at Winona State University in Minnesota on an athletics scholarship.
She has been a standout athlete at the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) division II track and field championships.
Last year, Shereen made her World Championships debut in Oregon in July and clocked 53.57 to finish seventh in the heats.
A month later, she featured in her first Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and clocked 53.92 to finish seventh in the heats.
She is the youngest daughter of Josephine, a former middle-distance sensation and national elite coach, and Samson Vallabouy whose 800m timing of 1:48.29s in 1989 remains the oldest record in SEA Games men’s athletics. - FMT
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