STILL nowhere near the form which saw her soar to the national record two years ago, Roslinda Samsu believes it is only a matter of time before she scales yet another peak. But the Kedah-born athlete knows that she must clear 4.55m at least if she harbours any hope of qualifying for the Olympic pole vault final on Aug 18.
“I’ve yet to reach 4.40m (since setting the national record) but I’ve been consistently clearing 4.30m and I’m still hopeful that by breaking the national record, it will be good enough for a place in the final,” said Roslinda after receiving her official attire at a function in Bukit Jalil on Monday.
“Going by the performances at the last World Championships (in Osaka last year), the cut-off mark for the final was 4.55m. It is going to be tough but I’m up to the challenge.”
Roslinda, 26, who will be making her Olympics debut in Beijing, said the one-month competition stint in Spain has put her in the right frame of mind. “There is not much time left and there is nothing more that I can do now. I competed against some of the athletes who will be going to the Olympics like (American) Stacy Dragila and Svetlana Feofanova (of Russia).
“That helped me to build my confidence when I face them again in Beijing,” said Roslinda, who has the Singapore Open this weekend as her final tune-up event.
Roslinda earned a silver medal at the Asian Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar earlier this year but missed out on the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain when her poles failed to arrive.
In her maiden World Outdoor Championship outing last year, Roslinda cleared 4.35m in the preliminary round.
She also won gold at the Asian Track and Field Championships, albeit against a weakened field, and at the Korat Sea Games.
NST
No comments:
Post a Comment