Former national ace middle-distance runner B. Rajkumar believes that his 32-year-old 800m national record will not be broken at the 29th Sea Games Kuala Lumpur.
 
Rajkumar set the national record of 1.47.37s while competing at the Asian Track and Field Championships in Jakarta in 1985 as a 22-year-old..
Now 52, Rajkumar said the present batch of middle-distance runners in the country need more than just wanting to win the gold if they are to beat his national mark..
“Many just sprint at the last 100m of the entire race just to win the gold medal. This is not enough to break national records.
 
To break the middle-distance national record, the athlete needs to run his own race,” said Rajkumar who won a grand double at the  1985 Singapore SEA Games – winning the gold in the his pet events – the 800m and 1500m.
 
That was the year when Rajkumar achieved a milestone in his running career when he made the 800m finals in the 1985 World Cup in Canberra.
Rajkumar added that national athletes need to undergo train and competitive in the Europe circuit.
“It is tough in Europe and I speak from my experience in Europe. I trained in for five years and it  made a difference.
“Local athletes need to be sent to Europe and train and compete in athletics meets there to build themselves up. If this happens there is a possibility of them breaking my national record,” said Rajkumar at the Kuala Kubu Baru 21km Road Relay press conference on Monday.
Rajkumar also laments that many excellent and dedicated coaches who were trained in Germany and have a German coaching certificate, are not in the current setup.
 
“They have been left out and it is a waste not to use their expertise.That is why I plan to start a platform in Kuala Kubu Baru to gather all the coaches to train new athletes.
“If this happens I am confident we can see potential athletes emerging in the next three to four years.”
 
Rajkumar called on Malaysian athletes to concentrate and run without thinking about anything for a good to win the gold.
“I am happy and proud of my national record still exists but if someone manages to set a new time I will be the happiest person,” said Rajkumar.
 
BY: DESLYN YOON
 
 
The second Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) 21km Road Relay is back again, bigger and with better prize money.
 
The road relay is an event that involves four runners in each team to run in four stages.
The event scheduled for Sept 2. is the brain child of former national middle-distance ace B. Rajkumar, who still holds the 800m record of 1.47.37s – set at the Asian Track and Field Championships in Jakarta in 1985.
 
This event is to encourage participation of athletes in road relays, which used to be a popular event held almost every weekend in the 80s at Jalan Duta.
A brainchild of Rajkumar, who wants to use this event to expose more athletes to road relay in order to revive road relays in an effort to give back to athletics.
 
This years’s 21km KKB Road Relay will have some minor changes which will not have the veterans category.
“Instead we plan to add have an international category,” said Rajkumar who is the event chairman and ambassador of the event.
 
The total prize money for this year;s event has been increased by RM2000 to RM 12, 250.
 
The road relay is sanctioned by Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur Athletic Association (FTKLAA) and Selangor Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA) – in collaboration with the Olympic Council of Malaysia Move Malaysia and Ministry of Education. – BY DESLYN YOON
 
Category:
Men Open (19 years & above)
Women Open(19 years & above)
Men Junior (16 years – 18 years)
Women Junior(16 years – 18 years)
Boys (13 years – 15 years)
Girls(13 years – 15 years)
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