KUALA LUMPUR: Up-and-coming star Nurelfira Umaira Yusuf set the tracks on fire, outshining taller and stronger athletes to clinch the gold medal in the girls' Under-14 80m hurdles at the Western Australia State Track & Field Championships in Perth last weekend.
The Sabah-born Nurelfira sprinted to victory in 13.10sec, narrowly overcoming silver medallist Zoe Daby (13.11) and bronze medallist Aaliyah Garbin (13.26), both representing Cockburn Little Athletics.
Nurelfira, a student at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pasir Putih in Tawau, clocked 13.43 in the heats.
In addition to her gold in the 80m hurdles, she secured the 200m hurdles silver, recording a time of 29.93.
Her coach, Dzulfikar Awang Anak, believes Nurelfira possesses great potential in athletics.
"Nothing is impossible. We are thrilled that she secured a gold medal in the 80m hurdles," he said.
"She trains regularly at her school and the Tawau Stadium. We had a week-long training session at the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) from Feb 10-18 before heading to Perth.
"Nurelfira also had the opportunity to train under Karim Batjo in BJSS. We are thankful for this remarkable achievement."
Compatriots, Syahzwan Willian and Randy Ryann Samson, also excelled by winning gold medals in the boys' Under-15 shot put and high jump events, respectively.
