KUALA LUMPUR: After putting in the hard yards since the Tokyo games ended, former world keirin champion Datuk Azizulhasni Awang is now fully prepared for what will be his fifth, and most likely last, appearance at the Olympics.
Azizulhasni as well as teammates Shah Firdaus Sahrom and Izzah Izzati Asri have been in Mallorca, Spain over the past month for their final training camp before the Olympics.
The trio, who did not take part in the opening ceremony, are scheduled to travel to the Olympic Games Village in Paris today.
Azizulhasni, a bronze medallist at Rio 2016 and silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, is eager to get the show started.
"Last training session here in Mallorca done and dusted," he said on social media today.
"I have left no stone unturned for this preparation (period) and am very happy with the progress (achieved). Now, I am looking forward to fly to Paris.
"(Just) six more days until my competition."
The men's individual sprint event will begin on Aug 7 while the keirin starts on Aug 10. Azizulhasni and Shah will compete in both.
While the trio focused more on hypertrophy and subsequently strength building earlier in their preparation for the Olympics, the camp in Mallorca, conducted under the watchful eye of technical director John Beasley, emphasised speed work and towards the end, tapering for the games.
The trio will be armed with the latest version of the WX-R Vorteq track bike in Paris - stiffer, more aerodynamic and more mechanically efficient than its predecessor - which has been developed at a cost of RM7.5 million.
Azizulhasni's journey to Paris has underlined his indomitable spirit as he faced substantial challenges en route.
He underwent open heart surgery to correct a coronary artery anomaly, a condition he has suffered from since birth, in April 2022 and spent the rest of the season recovering.
Many questioned his ability to make a successful comeback but he proved the doubters wrong as he broke his own national record over 200 metres en route to an individual sprint-keirin double gold feat at the Asian Championships (June) in Nilai last year.
Later last year, he also suffered a high-speed training crash which saw him sustain a hip injury and abrasion wounds and forced him to sit out the Hangzhou Asian Games (September). He returned to training just weeks later.