Karim's jubilance over stunning feat by Jonathan and Nixson

June 28, 2017

KUCHING: Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah was jubilant over the stunning feat accomplished by state sprinters Jonathan Nyepa and Nixson Kennedy in the 100m final at the Korea Open Athletics Championships in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do yesterday.

File photo of Jonathan (right) as he finishes just behind Khairul at the 2016 Sukma in Sarawak.

“I hope they will improve further as they get more foreign exposure. 

"I also hope all Malaysians will give them their support so as to push their determination and morale,” he said as quoted by TheBorneoPost today.

Jonathan clocked 10.28sec to finish second behind Korean ace Kim Kok Young who won at 10.07s. 

File photo of Nixson (left) as he competes against an Indonesian sprinter at the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.

Fellow sprinter Nixson finished a creditable fourth place with a time of 10.43s.

Jonathan and Nixson were representing Malaysia in the international meet which served as a platform for national athletes to stake their claim for selection into the national team for the coming SEA Games.

Both were aiming to qualify for their second SEA Games.

Jonathan’s time yesterday ranked him as the second fastest in Malaysian history. 

Malacca’s Khairul Hafiz Jantan ran 10.18s at last year’s 18th Sukma to break Sarawak’s Watson Nyambek’s 18-year-old national record of 10.30s. 

Jonathan was second in 10.36s in that race held at Petra Jaya’s Sarawak Stadium.

His new personal best time of 10.28s also means that the 21-year-old has now broken Watson’s Sarawak state record in the event. 

The wind gauge measured +0.8 m/s (within the legal +2.0 limit) for the race yesterday.

Meanwhile, Nixson’s performance follows his recent good form.

He won the 100m at the Pahang Open at the end of April, clocking 10.25s and 10.27s in the semi-final and final respectively.

There has been no official word on the wind speed recorded.

Nixson, a year older than Jonathan, ran in the 2015 SEA Games held in Singapore but failed to qualify for the final of the 100m.

However, he did anchor Malaysia’s 4 x 100m relay team led by Jonathan, to fourth place in Singapore with a time of 39.67s.

Sarawak State Sports Council chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee told The Borneo Post that the performances of the two augur well for them to make it for the KL SEA Games. -TheBorneoPost