KUALA LUMPUR: National track queen Shereen Samson Vallabouy has secured a grant from the National Sports Council (NSC) to extend her training under coach Derrick White in Florida, the United States.
The grant will cover all her expenses for nine months starting next year.
Last year, Shereen received RM400,000 from NSC for a one-year training stint in Florida, which expired in July.
The 26-year-old is currently using her own money to continue training.
Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) technical director John Ballard believes the extended grant will benefit Shereen.
"I'm not certain about the conditions of the new grant, but training under White in the US will certainly aid her development as an athlete," said Ballard.
Last year, Shereen broke two national records in the US – the 200m (23.33s) and 400m (51.79s).
In addition, the Ipoh-born bagged bronze medals in both the 400m and 4x400m at the delayed 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Ballard confirmed Shereen is gearing up for three major competitions next year — the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea (May 27-31), the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (Sept 13-21), and the Bangkok Sea Games (Dec 7-19).