KUALA LUMPUR – In less than two years, national athlete Muhammad Nazmi Nasri had made his presence felt on the international stage when he captured the men’s long jump T37 (physical impairment) category gold medal at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan today.
His jump which recorded a distance of 6.13m at the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium not only confirmed the gold medal in his debut but also eclipsed his previous personal best of 5.74m.
Greece’s Konstantinos Kamaras took silver with a clearance of 6.01m while Brazil’s Mateus Evangelista Cardoso settled for bronze with a similar effort.
The 21-year-old Nazmi, who is partially disabled on the left side including his foot and hand, did not expect to clinch gold as he admitted to being overawed by the presence of other athletes before the championships began.
“This is the biggest achievement in my career because the other athletes are ranked higher than me. I just gave it my best shot today.
“Before this, I had never participated in sports but everything changed before the 2022 Malaysian Para Games when I was encouraged to try the long jump event by two former national para-athletes,” said the Johor-born Nazmi when contacted by Bernama.
With his victory, Malaysia now have two gold medals – with 2016 Rio Paralympic champion Muhammad Ziyad Zolkeflli clinching the first gold in the men’s shot putt F20 (intellectual impairment) event with a throw of 17.43m on Tuesday (May 21). – May 23, 2024