Maziah Mahusin while running in the 400m during the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar last December. BT file
Maziah after returning from the 2012 London Olympics, where she set her personal best time of 59.28s. The 20-year-old is looking to run under 59 seconds this year. BT file
Maziah Mahusin has got plenty of plans for the year.
The national runner is targeting to feature in several competitions, but more importantly, is looking to break her personal best time - which is also the national record - in the 400m.
Her fastest time remains the 59.28s set at the 2012 London Olympics, where she became the Sultanate's first female Olympian.
"My target is to run under 59 seconds in the 400m," said Maziah in an interview with The Brunei Times last week.
"I'm going to have my final exams in March, and after that I can fully concentrate on training.
"I really have to focus on my training and prepare for any upcoming competitions, and my coach (Isidro del Prado) also wants me to improve on my mental and physical preparations," she added.
The May 24-June 4 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Perlis is the first event she is eyeing.
The 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23-August 3 is the main competition for the year, followed by the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea from September 19-October 4.
If she does make it to Glasgow, she will be the first female - besides the lawn bowls team - to fly the flag for the Sultanate since the 1994 edition in Victoria, Canada.
There is still plenty of work to be done for Maziah though.
Maziah, who trains six times a week, currently runs the 400m in 57 seconds (in the 4x400m event) which is seven seconds slower than Botswana's Amantle Montsho's gold medal-winning time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
The qualifying time for the women's 400m event is set at 51.50s for Standard A and 52.50s for Standard B.
She is hoping that she will be able to take things up a notch if she is to be selected for the tournaments.
"I just need to be ready at all times for a call up," said Maziah, adding she is also targeting next year's SEA Games in Singapore.
"Hopefully the new president (Kifli Hj Jaafar) and the association (Brunei Amateur Athletics Association) will have a better plan and support for me as well," she concluded.
The BAAA was revamped after Kifli, the head of the Sports Coaching and Development Unit under the Department of Youth and Sports, was voted in as the new president during their Annual General Meeting (AGM) in January.
Maziah got a ticket to the London Olympics, where she competed together with 400m runner Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi, because of universality places offered by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to countries which have no qualified athletes.
It was a disappointing end for Maziah at the 27th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Myanmar back in December.
She was well below her best and only clocked 1:02.64 to place last in the heats at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium in Naypyidaw during the Dec 11-22 Games.
