BSKL athletes excel at the 2024 District Track and Field Championship

This year saw participation from more schools than previous years, with over 120 schools and nearly 2500 students across our district competing in multiple events across various age categories, all striving to be the best athletes in the district and to earn the opportunity to represent the Petaling Utama district at the Selangor State Athletics Championship which will be held in September this year. Five BSKL athletes participated in this year‘s games which turned out to be tougher than ever before with many records being broken and extremely hot conditions that the athletes had to endure.

Sasha Year 11 competed in the Under 18 girls category (P1) and won 2 Golds in the Discus and Javelin events. Sasha broke the 17 year old Javelin record with a throw of 34.54 metres, improving the district record that was set before she was born, by more than 5 metres! With a throw of 38.33 metres she also smashed the 9 year old district Discus record by almost 8 metres. In recognition of her outstanding performance, Sasha was also named the Under 18 girls (P1) District Athlete of the Year, a true honour for Sasha and BSKL.

Zac Year 9, who just turned 13, competed in the Under 14 boys category (L3), and did not have the advantage of age on his side going into the meet. Zac competed in the Javelin, Discus and Shot put events and won 2 golds in Discus and Shot put, and a silver in Javelin. Zac also surpassed the 10 year old javelin district record with a throw 36.64 metres and came really close to the 9 year old discus record with a throw of 34.94 metres, 60 centimetres short of the district record. Zac had a real fight to the finish on his hands in the Shot Put event, as the lead position kept switching between him and the boy who ultimately came in second, throughout the 6 throws. Zac won the gold with his final throw of 10.98 metres. It was a nail biting finish to what was Zac’s last event of the competition. It was good to see Zac challenge the older boys who are in their second year in this age category in all his events, and his fighting spirit definitely drew some cheers from the younger boys. Zac will continue to compete in the Under 14 category (L3) next year.

Zachary Year 10 also competed in the Under 14 boys category (L3) and took part in the 800 metres and 1500 metres events. Zachary won the bronze in the 800 metres event which turned out to be an extremely fast paced race, with all three medallists breaking the 26 year old district record! Zachary clocked a time of 2:15:44 surpassing the previous record and achieving a new personal best. Zachary also qualified for the 1500 metres finals which turned out to be another intense and tightly fought race, finishing 4th place and achieving another personal best of 4:58:97. Zachary is his second year in this age category and will compete in the under 15 boys category (L2) next year.

In addition to the medal winners, there were some brave runs by Jared and Ian Year 9. Jared competed in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 400 metres events while Ian ran in the 100 metres even, both in the under 14 age category (L3). For next year’s district meet, Jared will move to the Under 15 age category (L2) while Ian will stay with the Under 14 age category (L3) next year.

What an amazing championship this turned out to be for BSKL – 1 Athlete of the Year, 4 Golds, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze, 4 record breaking performances and new PBs, all from a small but mighty team of BSKL Lions. Despite having one of the smallest teams with only 5 athletes competing, BSKL managed to secure an impressive 11th place out of nearly 50 secondary schools. This is a remarkable achievement, given the high level of competition at this meet and is definitely a testament to the dedication and capability of our athletes.

Sasha and Zac have also received call-up notices to represent the Petaling Utama District at the Selangor State Track and Field Championship, scheduled for the first week of September in Klang. Stay tuned for further updates as our athletes prepare for the Selangor State Athletics Championships.

A special thank you goes to Ms. Yap for her invaluable efforts in coordinating the administrative aspects of the competition. Inspite of it being the summer holidays, she was always available to ensure that everything was perfectly organised.