THE London Olympics awaits Fatehah Mustapa, but she's not easing her foot off the pedal by any means, aiming for the best form of her life before hitting the Games on July 27-Aug 12 next year.
According to coach John Beasley's calculations, Fatehah has all but booked her spot in London 2012 as the first ever woman cyclist to represent Malaysia in an Olympics.Fatehah, 21, completed another superb performance in the Caracol de Pista event in Medellin, Colombia, over the weekend, where she finished third in the 200m sprint and fourth in the scratch race.
That followed her fifth place finish in the keirin in the second round of the UCI World Cup in Cali the previous week. She also finished ninth in the scratch race there to book her spot in the World Championships in that event.
"John says the Olympic spot is already sealed.
"I'm very happy about that and can't wait to get to London. But at the same time, I'm not going to take things for granted," said Fatehah, before she headed to Melbourne from Medellin yesterday.
"My training will have to be upped from now. I want more points to qualify comfortably and with an improved ranking.
"I want to qualify as the top ranked Asian rider.
"I'll also trying to qualify for the 200m sprint after this."
It has been the best month in Fatehah's career thus far, following up her triple gold medal sweep at the Sea Games in Indonesia last month with her feats in Colombia.
Now among the top women's keirin riders, Fatehah will be entering the Olympics with a real shot at bagging a medal, which is something she remains optimistic about.
"To win a medal is going to be very difficult because each country will be strong, come the Olympics," said Fatehah.
"But the keirin is also unpredictable.
"With a bit of luck and if I'm in a good position, I might be in with a chance to win a medal."
By Arnaz M. Khairul
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