KUALA LUMPUR: United States-based sprinter Shereen Samson Vallabouy showed character to win the women's 400m event at the NCAA Division Two meet in Pueblo Colorado on Friday.
The Winona State University student had contracted Covid-19 earlier this month and was not yet at 100 per cent fitness but was still able to win the race in a time of 52.74 seconds.
Alayna Verner of Azusa Pacific clocked 52.78s to finish second and Corrssia Perry of West Texas A&M came in third (53.39s).
Shereen had won the gold medal for Malaysia at the Phnom Penh Sea Games earlier this month.
Her mother Josephine Mary, who is also a former national runner, said she left for the United States on May 13.
"But when she arrived in the United States she had a high fever. The doctor told her that she had Covid," said Josephine today.
"Shereen had to take a break from training and recovered after a few days. Despite not being (100 per cent) well, she still took part in the race in Pueblo Colorado.
"We are proud of her achievement, it was her last race in the NCAA Division Two competition and she nailed it."
Shereen broke the national record after clocking 51.80s at the Mt SAC Relay Championships in California last month.
The 25-year-old will be completing her studies this month.
She will move to Florida next month to train under Lifespeed Athletics' coach Derrick White until July next year.
Shereen's next major goal is to win gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games (Sep 23-Oct 8).
She is currently the top ranked women's 400m runner in Asia.