It’s never too late to pursue your dreams
Published on: Thursday, April 04, 2024
By: GL Oh
Alison with her coach Rayzam.
Kota Kinabalu: Dr Alison Chew proves that it is never too late to pursue your dream as she prepares to make her mark in the World Masters Athletics Championship scheduled to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden this August.
The 41-year-old, who will be taking part in the 400m and 400m hurdle events in the 40-44 age category, is set to follow in the footsteps of the late Aliudin Jumaat, who had won medals in the world championship, Juliana Gumpil, who is the holder of several Asian records, and several other fellow Sabahans.
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The former MSSS (Sabah School Sports Council) 400m gold medallist has been making waves on the masters circuit since she made her competitive return in 2022.
Apart from winning gold medals in the local masters competitions, she also managed to out-run much younger athletes in the open category.
In her debut international appearance last November, she managed to win the 400m and 400m hurdles titles and a silver in the 200m at the 22nd Asia Masters Athletics Championship held in the Philippines.
The mother of three revealed on Wednesday that it was a chance meeting with former national hurdler Shamry Ali that rekindled her interest in the sport. “Track and field has always been my passion since primary school and I had won the MSSS gold medal in 400m when I was a 17-year-old.
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“However, I was unable to continue due to SPM then and later to pursue medical studies followed by working a number of years in Australia.
“I returned here in 2014 and a chance to meet former SEA Games 400m hurdler Shamry Mohd Ali at the gym few years back that reignited my passion in track and field again.
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“I started self-training during the pandemic and competed regularly since 2022 at the Sabah Masters, Malaysia Masters, Johor Masters and the Asia Masters 2023, as well as local meets held here and more recently at the Berwang Track and Field Championship where I won a 400m silver in the 19 above category,” she said.
Alison is currently training under SEA Games gold medallist turned coach Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian at the Likas Stadium six times a week including workouts at the gym in preparation for the Sweden trip.
She also plans to participate in some warm-up races before the world championships starting with the RS Kinabalu Athletics League next month and the Singapore Masters Open in June.
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