Brunei Olympian Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi reacts after completing his heat in the men's 400 meter during the 2012 London Olympics yesterday. Ak Hafiy completed the run with a time of 48.67 seconds.Picture:Infofoto

Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi set a new personal best in the "run of his life" yesterday.

The 21-year-old clocked a time of 48.67 seconds in Heat 3 of the men's 400-metre at the London Olympics.

His previous best was 49.23s which he set at the 2012 Taiwan Open Athletics Championships in May.

His time at the Olympic Stadium allowed him to finish in 45th position in the field of 47 runners.

Jonathan Borlee, who ran in the same heat as the Bruneian, set the fastest time yesterday after he crossed the line at 44.43s.

Nonetheless, it was a job well done for Ak Hafiy considering that his aim was to better his previous time at the Games.

"I felt nervous and it was difficult adjusting to breathing in the cold weather. I didn't think about it and just ran. I didn't expect to actually break my previous best," said Ak Hafiy in a telephone interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.

"I'm really satisfied with the run. I felt really motivated despite a small section of supporters in the huge capacity crowd at the stadium," he added.

The lanky Brunei also said that there was no added pressure on him despite his compatriots, Maziah Mahusin and Anderson Lim Chee Wei, both setting new national records in their respective events.

It is also known that the current national record for the event stands at 48.55s.

"I'm already looking forward to breaking that time soon," said Ak Hafiy.

"I would like to thank the coaching staff, my parents and also to everyone back in Brunei for supporting me," he added.

National athletic coach Isidrol del Prado was delighted with the performance of his athlete.

"He was having adjusting to the cold weather and had difficulty breathing. But he really pushed himself in the race and did well," said Del Prado.

The event sees the end of the Brunei campaign at the July 27 - Aug 12 Olympics.

It was a fantastic outing for the Sultanate at the Games as all the athletes have proven their worth.

Brunei's first Olympic swimmer, Lim, had set a new national record in the 200-metre freestyle with a time of 2:02.26 on Sunday while the first Bruneian female at the Games, Maziah, finished her 400m event with a new national record of 59.28s on Friday.

Courtesy from Brunei Times