IPOH: There is a saying that ‘the apple doesn’t fall from the tree’ and that aptly describes the world’s fastest teenager, Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi.
Nicknamed the ‘Usain Bolt of Malaysia’, the 15-year-old, who hails from Teluk Intan, comes from a family with a keen interest in sports.
His father, 50-year-old Mohd Fahmi Tajuid, who works as a co-curriculum supervisor with the Bagan Datuk District Education Office, used to be a hurdler back in the 80s.
Azeem was declared the world’s fastest teenager in the Under-16 category when he clocked 21.24 seconds in the boys’ 200 metres event at the Malaysian Schools Sports Council Athletics Championships in Johor last week.
Azeem said although he was surprised by his feat, he had always dreamt of winning the Olympic 100m and 200m sprint gold medals for Malaysia.
He also said he began representing the Hilir Perak district in the state-level sports council championships four years ago.
“I’ve always followed my dad to the field to train. To this day, I still train five days a week, comprising seven training sessions of two hours per session,” he told Bernama.
Azeem, the fourth of five siblings, said not even a hamstring injury, which he once suffered, could break his spirit to become one of the best sprinters in the country.
“Apart from my sporting success, I also want to excel academically as my ambition is to become a teacher,” said the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunung Rapat student, who reiterated that he wanted to complete his Form Three Assessment (PT3) first before planning for the future.
Azeem, who idolises Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse, clearly has his feet on the ground as he does not want his new-found success to get to his head and make him complacent.
On Friday night, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman gave the teenager three options to consider: train overseas, move to the National Sports Council in Bukit Jalil or stay put in Perak and hone his talent.
Meanwhile, coach Muhammad Amir Izwan Tan Abdullah, who has been coaching the youngster for the past three years, said he wished only the best for the young sprinter.
“As his coach, I only want the best for him and my hope is to continue to unearth more talented athletes as well as to produce more knowledgeable athletes,” said Amir, who teaches at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunung Rapat and has been a state schools sports council-level coach for 17 years.
Apart from Muhammad Azeem, he also trains 17-year-old Mohd Irfan Izzan Mohd Fetry, who clocked a personal best of 13.60s to win the boys’ 110m hurdles gold medal in the third edition of the Asian Youth Athletics Championships at the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground in Hong Kong in March. - Bernama