Sukma: Sarawakian Watson Nyambek's 100m record finally falls to Khairul Hafiz

Malaysia's wait for a new sprint to emerge from the ruins of athletics in the country ended when Khairul Hafiz Jantan set the Sarawak Stadium ablaze by smashing the 18-year-old National 100m record held by Watson Nyambek in an exciting final here today.

Khairul Hafiz from Melaka became the country's fastest man and claimed the undisputed 'Sprint King' title after crossing the finish line in 10.18 seconds, well ahead of his two rivals and the old record of 10.30s set by Watson at the 1998 Pre-Commonwealth Games meet.

Sarawakian Jonathan Nyepi and Badrul Hisyam Abdul Manap from Melaka crossed the finish line with identical times of 10.36s but the silver was awarded to Nyepi after a photo finish.

The 100m sprint, always the blue ribbon event of any major games, gave thousands of fans who had filled the Sarawak Stadium their 'money's worth' although entrance was free.

The time set by Khairul Hafiz was also a mere 0.01s away from the SEA Games 100m record set by Indonesian Suryo Agung Wibowo at the 2009 Laos SEA Games but well below the 10.25s winning time in Singapore last year.