SARAWAK’S hammer thrower Jackie Wong is the undisputed ‘Iron Man of Southeast Asia’.
Yesterday, the 27-year-old broke his national record twice en route to winning the gold medal in the Malaysian Closed Athletics Championships at the NSC Training Track in Bukit Jalil.
The reigning Sea Games champion heaved the hammer with all his might to shatter the national record for a 16th time with his second throw of 67.50m.
However, Jackie, who hails from the small town of Sarikei, was still left dissatisfied as he rewrote it for a 17th time with a throw of 68.22m on his fifth attempt.
Negri Sembilan’s Sadat Marzuqi Ajisan won silver with 55.63m, followed by Sarawak’s Michael Sia (47.38m).
This year alone, Jackie has bettered his distance four times.
He achieved his first record of the season with a distance of 67.01m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, followed by his 67.31m throw for silver at the South Korean Championships in June.
Based on his result yesterday, Jackie should face no issues retaining his Sea Games crown in the Philippines later this year.
Jackie, a Navy Reservist, now hopes to shatter his record in the Philippines for the gold.
The hammer thrower took bronze at the 2011 (Indonesia), 2013 (Myanmar) and 2015 (Singapore) editions before finally winning the Sea Games title two years ago in Kuala Lumpur with a new Games record of 65.90 to end Malaysia’s 16-year gold drought in the event.
“Winning the Sea Games gold in 2017 was special as I managed to regain Malaysia’s superiority in the event after Wong Tee Kui’s victory in 2001.
“Although I have achieved the best throw in Southeast Asia this year, I will not take things lightly in the Philippines.
“I don’t want to be overconfident as there are throwers from other countries who are close to my distance,” he said yesterday.
Jackie added that bettering his record 17 times in seven years is something extraordinary in athletics.
“I was slightly worried coming into today’s event as I felt my form was not too good after Korea in June.
“But I told myself to stay calm whenever it was my turn to throw the hammer, and it worked.
“This success will motivate me to try even harder at the Sea Games.”
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) yesterday picked 26 athletes under Category A and 18 under Category B for the Sea Games.
MAF president Datuk S.M. Muthu believes his athletes can surpass the five-gold target for the Sea Games.
Sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan is among those in Category B and has been marked for the 4x100m event.