KUALA LUMPUR: Shereen Samson Vallabouy is set to get assistance from the Youth and Sports Ministry following her recent exploits in the women's 400m.
Minister Hannah Yeoh will meet Shereen on Tuesday to discuss possible financial assistance to continue training in the United States.
Hannah said Shereen, 25, a student-athlete at Winona State University in Minnesota, showed her pedigree by breaking Rabia Abdul Salam's record in California recently.
"We want to provide support to athletes like Shereen.
"However, the form of assistance is still being discussed. I will meet Shereen on Tuesday. We will update the media," she told reporters after launching the Kuala Lumpur Standard Charted Marathon today.
Shereen smashed Rabia's 30-year-old national 400m record of 52.56s by clocking 51.80 at the St Mac Relays Invitational Elite competition in California on April 15.
Based on Shereen's time of 51.80, she is ranked number two in Asia currently.
Shereen has returned to KL to prepare for next month's Sea Games in Phnom Penh. The last Malaysian woman to win the 400m gold in the Sea Games was N. Manimagalay in Brunei in 1999.
Last month, Shereen also rewrote her national 400m indoor record by clocking 52.27 at the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II event in Virginia.
Shereen will move to Florida in June after her last semester at Winona State University for an internship and further training under coach Derrick White. --BERNAMA