HANGZHOU: Sea Games 400m champion Umar Osman wants to get away from his comfort zone.
The 20-year-old knows he should not be satisfied with his current status and that he still has a long way to go.
Umar is contemplating training overseas in his bid to be an Asian-class athlete.
And he has received offers from two American universities, and one of them is Auburn University, which national 100m champion Azeem Fahmi joined last January.
Umar, who holds the national 400m record of 46.09 seconds, said: "I must get away from my comfort zone to improve my performance... I'm still young.
"I will discuss with the National Sports Council before making a decision (on training in the US by joining an American university).
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Umar failed to reach the 400m final after a fourth-place finish in the heat with a time of 46.58s.
However, he has been performing consistently well this year, breaking the national record three times, starting with the Phnom Penh Sea Games in May (46.34) and twice at the World University Games in Chengdu in August (46.33 and 46.09).
For Umar to improve, the US appears to be the best place for him to train in. Azeem and Shereen Samson Vallabouy, who both won Asiad bronze in Hangzhou, are also based in America.
