KUALA LUMPUR: Shereen Samson Vallabouy's hopes of qualifying for the Paris Olympics on merit are slowly slipping away.
On Friday, Shereen, a bronze medallist at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, clocked 52.85s to win the women's 400m event at the BAYTAF Classic in Tampa, the United States, but her effort was way off the Olympic qualifying time of 50.95.
Her performance at the University of South Florida Track and Field Stadium was more than a second slower than her national record of 51.80.
Only three athletes registered for the 400m race, but only two ran, with Erin Dowd finishing second to Shereen with a time of 55.86.
Shereen also raced in the 200m and won with a time of 23.47, which was close to her personal best of 23.33.
Erin Dowd (24.60) and Toni Canfall (24.73) were second and third respectively.
Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) technical director John Ballard said things do not look promising for Shereen unless she improves her performance in the next few weeks.
"Qualifying for the Olympics on merit looks tough for Shereen.
"She is ranked 78th in the Road to Paris rankings, and only the top 48 will make the cut," said Ballard.
However, Ballard revealed that World Athletics offer more ranking points if an athlete breaks the national, Asian and world records.
"If Shereen does not beat the Olympic qualifying time, she can still qualify if she breaks her national record, which will see her climb the rankings," she added.
Shereen will compete in Nashville next week before returning home for the Malaysian Open in Kuantan from June 14-16. She will then head to Almaty for the Kazakhstan Open on June 23-24.