KUALA LUMPUR: The clock is ticking for 400m runner Shereen Samson Vallabouy who is trying to qualify for the Paris Oympics by the end of the month.
The United States-based Shereen will compete in the Malaysian Open in Kuantan from June 14-16 and the Kazakhstan Open in Almaty from June 23-24 in an attempt to meet the qualifying mark of 50.95 seconds.
Though the Asian Games bronze medallist set a national record of 51.79 at the Music City Track Carnival in Tennessee on June 1, it did not meet the Olympic mark.
If Shereen fails to do 50.95 in Kuantan or Almaty, she needs to be ranked top 48 in the world to qualify for Paris. Currently she is 61st.
Shereen, 26, who arrived in Kuala Lumpur from the United States yesterday, did not waste time as she had her first training session at the NSC track in Bukit Jalil this morning.
Shereen said: "I'm doing good and my first day of training went well. I was jet lagged from traveling, so today was a light day of training and getting back into rhythm and recovery.
"I hope to cut down my timing from the last race, I'll take it from there and have faith on what will happen next.
"I've put in all the work, and for now all I can do is trust the plan of my coach and have faith in God.
"Even though there's slight pressure to achieve my goal, I've learned to be calm and take it one step at a time."
Malaysian Athletics Federation Technical Director John Ballard said Shereen needs to break her national record twice and also win her races in the Malaysian Open and Kazakhstan Open to move up to 48th in the Road to Olympics rankings.