Wearing two hats is not weighing down Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian as he easily won the men's 110m hurdles at the Malaysian Athletics Grand Prix yesterday.
The Sabah-born trains on his own every morning at the Likas Stadium as he does not have a coach. And he trains with Sabah's Malaysia Games squad, also doubling up as their coach, every evening to keep himself fit.
However, it did not stop him from making headlines as he clocked 14.50sec at the National Sports Council (NSC) Training Track in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Compatriot Benedict Ian Gawok clocked 14.78 to settle for silver, while Sarawak's Rizzua Haiza (14.86) took the bronze.
The 33-year-old could have clocked a better time had he not slowed down in the last 10 metres of the race.
"It was my first meet in 14 months, and I had struggled at first but was still able to maintain my pace," said Rayzam.
"I am happy with my efforts. I train on my own in the morning and then coach Sabah's Malaysia Games squad in the evening daily. I was appointed as the coach recently.
"I like challenges, and I am more than happy to train athletes as I want to produce as many as 10 more 'Rayzam Shahs' for Malaysia."
He hopes to compete in more competitions ahead of the Vietnam Sea Games on Nov 21-Dec 2.
"I have been training on my own for the last three years and can still produce results in competitions. But I want to help Malaysia produce another top-level hurdler, who is better than me," said Rayzam.
"I am already 33 and will feature in my seventh Sea Games in Hanoi. I will continue to do so until another hurdler manages to beat me in competitions.
"I need to compete in at least seven meets ahead of the Sea Games. I love to go to Germany to train under coach Jan May in June, but the problem is I have to observe quarantine for 10 days before I can start training."
"My fitness level will surely drop if I do not train for ten days, so I have decided to stay back in Sabah to continue my training for the biennial Games,"