KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — The 2022 SEA Games women’s duathlon silver medalist, Tahira Najmunisaa Muhammad Zaid will face a tough task to defend her silver medal in the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games which will commence on May 5.
Malaysian Triathlon Association (MTA) head coach Albert Tan Yi Wei said this followed more challenging new competition format introduced at the championship as Tahira Najmunisaa, better known as the ‘iron woman’, has to participate in a sprint duathlon involving a 5 kilometre (km) run, 20 km of cycling and an additional 2.5 km of running.
In the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, last May, the standard duathlon event which was contested included a 10 km run, a 40 km bike ride and an additional 5 km run.
“The chance to retain the silver medal in Cambodia is quite difficult, given that the format has changed to make the distance shorter.
“We will change the strategy for Tahira Najmunisaa this year as there maybe other stronger runners in sprint.
“However, her speed in the Toyota Run on January 15, really showed excellent progress. However, there will always be room for improvement,” he said when met by Bernama.
Albert said the 33-year-old athlete based in Manjung, Perak will return to full-time training at Bukit Jalil from next Wednesday (February 22) in an effort to sharpen her physical and mental skills, especially as she has never participated in a sprint duathlon before.
He, however, admitted that the lack of international duathlon championships being contested, may require his side to prepare a simulation of the tournament ahead of the 2023 SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia scheduled to take place from May 5 to 17.
At the SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, last May, Tahira Najmunisaa finished the standard duathlon competition covering a 10 km run, 40 km cycling and an additional 5 km run with a time of two hours 14 minutes 22 seconds to win the silver medal.
— Bernama
