King, Queen congratulate Shereen for stunning 400m win

KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah have expressed their pride and joy at the success of national athlete Shereen Vallabouy in bringing glory to Malaysia on the world stage.

In a post on the official Istana Negara Facebook page tonight, Their Majesties congratulated Shereen on her success in breaking the national women's 400-metre (m) indoor record at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Kansas, USA, on Saturday (March 12).

"Their Majesties expressed hope that the excellent achievement will spur her and the national athletes to continue to work hard to achieve success and glorify Malaysia's name in future championships.

"Their Majesties wish Shereen good luck and pray that she will enjoy continuous success," according to the post.

Shereen is the first Malaysian female athlete to dip under the 54-second (s) mark in the 400m indoor race when she clocked 53.79s in Kansas, thus not only improving on her personal best of 54.94s, but also smashing the 16-year-old record of 54.58s held by Noraseela Mohd Khalid.

Shereen also broke the 12-year-old Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference record.

Shereen, who is the daughter of former national athletes Samson Vallabuoy and Josephine Mary, is currently pursuing studies in the field of recreation and tourism at the Winona State University, Minnesota.

-- BERNAMA