KUCHING: Despite having only raced the 800m three times in his career, Umar Osman secured an impressive victory and set a new Malaysia Games (Sukma) record at Sarawak Stadium today.
Umar, whose main event is the 400m, which he won at last year's Phnom Penh Sea Games — clocked 1:51.19 to win the gold medal in the 800m.
The previous record of 1:52.35, set by G. Ampumani at the 1992 Sukma, had stood for 32 years.
The 21-year-old from Johor was surprised by his performance in the 800m.
"I have very little experience in the 800m. However, I worked hard during training to build my pace and speed ahead of the Games," Umar said.
"My previous best time in the 800m was 1:58.00, so I was surprised when I crossed the finish line with a new record," he added.
Umar also holds the national 400m record with a time of 46.09.
It was Umar's third Sukma record, having previously set records in the 400m (46.78s) and the 4x400m relay (3:12.35).
Discussing his strategy for the 800m race, Umar explained that his plan was to follow the fastest runner.
"In the first lap, I didn't feel tired. I just followed the runner in third place. After the first lap, I saw on the scoreboard that I ran 56 seconds.
"For the first 100m of the second lap, I continued to follow, and when I noticed that the Perak athlete seemed exhausted, I pushed forward to take the lead until the end," Umar added.
He also won the mixed 4x400m title, bringing his total of four gold medals in the Games.