MSSD Klang Athletics Championship

The competition that I had been training for had finally arrived.It was the district-level athletics championship which is held annually for students in primary and secondary schools.I was looking forward to this competition since I started my new training session in May last year.I was registered to run the 200m,400m,4x100m and the 4x400m.

My main target was the 400m.That was the event that I had been training for for the past 2 years.There were many obstacles during that period of training,especially severe injuries to my quadriceps.With my goal in mind to clock a new personal best,I brushed off all those obstacles to get myself well prepared for the competition.

Unfortunately,this year's competition just wasn't my year to shine.Everything was going on well during the heats(morning) and the semifinals(afternoon).When I started my final race,my body just didn't move to it's full potential.I only managed a 4th placing behind 3 of my old rivals.I clocked a personal best but it wasn't even near to the timing that I had targeted.I can call it one of the most disappointing days of my life.

I tried to forget that race and was ready to help my school win the 4x100m relay the next day.Again,bad luck struck me.The fourth runner did not pass the baton properly to me and it fell.I'm not blaming the third runner for the mistake because I treated him like a trained runner when I started running although he wasn't that experienced in relay races.A few coaches who knew me applauded me for picking up the fallen baton and finishing the run but that was the only compliment from that miserable day.

Day 4(I had no events on day 1) was the day that I had my 200m.I fared slightly better in the heats and semifinals,finishing first for both.During the finals,I was ranked 3rd and managed to maintain my ranking to claim the bronze medal.It was a very hard fought medal,a simple gift for my efforts during training.Winning only a bronze medal meant that I missed out on the state-level athletics championship.It was really disappointing as I thought I had worked really hard during training.

When I went home that day and as I stared out blankly into the sky,I started to think of the amount of effort that world-class athletes would have put in to achieve outstanding times.And if what I thought was really hard work only brought me to my level now,I started to think of the amount of effort I had to put in to emulate them.That evening,I decided that it was too late for me to turn back on athletics after enduring 2 years of training and I would surely continue to work hard to achieve my goals.............