| Fadhil Yunus |
NATIONAL Day Run men’s 10km open winner Younes Ammouta acknowledged the improvement of local runners after third-placed Muhammad Haziq Syazwan bin Hermanti achieved a podium finish on a competitive scale for the first time in the country.
The long distance runner shared his thoughts on the ability of the locals in the national scene, evident with the breakthrough of Muhammad Haziq Syazwan during last month’s event.
“It is the first time that the third-place finisher in the men’s 10km open (Muhammad Haziq Syazwan) got a top three result in Brunei. He also improved his personal best with a time of 35:47s,” Younes told the Bulletin recently.
“He was even surprised with himself for the achievement. The local runners are improving,” he said.
“I met the team and the Brunei national long distance coach Suleiman Nyambui. While we are training together, it is good to see that the local runners are improving.”
The Moroccan competed in the half-marathon event of the Miri Marathon earlier this year where he finished third. He has also set his sights on the upcoming Borneo Run and the Re-Integration Run as well as the Kota Kinabalu (KK) Run before Ramadhan.
Younes, who set his personal best in Germany, admitted that he also takes advice from national long distance coach Suleiman Nyambui.
The runner, who regularly competes in local running competitions, successfully defended his National Day Run title having been tagged as a firm favourite.
Asked on his thoughts about the race, he said, “The race was not really hard and following my preparations, everything went smoothly. I managed to stay at the front from the start and I kept it like that until the finish line.”
Younes’ list of achievements also extended to European races mostly in Germany. He enjoyed a victory at a Frankfurt meet before moving to Brunei.