Athletics: Sprinter slips but vows to come back stronger at 2028 Games

MOHD Azeem Fahmi is a chirpy and jovial lad, but he was almost dumbstruck yesterday. He had come to the Paris Olympics hoping to better his season’s best of 10.36s in the 100m.

Instead, he finished last in round one, heat two of the 100m with a time of 10.45s at the Stade de France. In fact, he had actually done better in the preliminaries, clocking 10.42s and coming in second.

After the race, the youngster, who holds the national record of 10.09s, was left looking to the skies and wondering about his poor end to the season.

At the mixed zone, Azeem, an Auburn University student, was visibly distraught with his performance and was emotional – and apologetic – about his performance in his debut Games.

Azeem checks the leaderboard after his 100m race. — OCM

“I slipped a little. It is not what I wanted. I tried to give my best even though many know that my season has not been great,” he said.

“The track was good, but it is a pity I could not utilise it.

“I am disappointed with my run. I didn’t think I would come this far, but at the same time, I was not expecting to fall this far too. I want to apologise to those who have supported and prayed for me from day one. I am sorry for not giving my best time.”

Kenyan Ferdinand Omonyola won the rather slow heat with a time of 10.08s. Italian Chituru Ali was second with a time of 10.12s, while Germany’s Joshua Hartman was third, recording 10.16s.

“I’m taking this as a lesson. I still have a long way to go in this career. I am still only 20.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be on this biggest stage for athletes, but I’m disappointed with myself because I could not produce my best.

“I am going to make sure in the future, I will be a different Azeem. I am not going to be the 20-year-old kid anymore. I want to grow up and show I am the best sprinter in Malaysia.”

Azeem added that this year has been a tough one for him and turning 20 last April had been a tough transition for him.

“I am going through a lot of new things. In the last year, everything has been new. I’m going to keep it to myself and know that this is a phase in my life that I have to learn.”

And he has promised to be back with a bang.

“There is still a long way to go. I want to go to Los Angeles on merit,” he said.