KUALA LUMPUR: Mother and daughter duo Melinder Kaur and Jacquelin Kaur were both presented with Youth Achievement Record titles from GenYouth here today.
Jacquelin earned the title of 'youngest Malaysian to Trek 130 kilometres up and down Everest Base Camp in seven days at age six'. She achieved this, with Melinder accompanying her, in September.
Melinder, a former national athlete, was honoured with the title of 'Malaysia's unrivaled 3,000m steeplechase national record holder since 2010 (10 minutes and 55 seconds)'.
The Youth Achievement Record initiative, which is supported by the Sports Ministry, is intended to honour outstanding young individuals who have exhibited remarkable dedication and have made significant contributions in various fields.
Melinder is a retired army officer whose passion is to break records while raising funds for the underprivileged.
In July, the 35-year-old became the first Malaysian woman to run non-stop on a treadmill for 25 hours during which she had also recorded the longest distance within 24 hours (123.85km).
She also holds the record of being the first Malaysian woman to run backwards non-stop for 12 hours on a treadmill which she achieved in December last year.
Melinder said she hoped to inspire Jacquelin to follow in her footsteps.
"Jacquelin is a very active child and she accompanied me when I broke all my records. I wanted to lead (her) by example," said Melinder today.
"I felt that she was capable of achieving a record and I trained her by having her run with me. When it came to the actual trek (to Everest base camp) itself, it became easy for her as we were only walking, albeit uphill.
"The only challenge was to keep her interested because we were walking for long hours everday which was quite boring for her.
"To keep her interested we played games along the way, this was to divert her mind and distract her from getting tired.
"I closely monitored her condition everyday but she always told me that she was fine and that she could do it."
Jacquelin was all smiles after being presented with the record.
"I feel very proud and very happy," said Jacquelin, who aspires to become a doctor.
"I hope to continue breaking records with mum."
Melinder had broken the 3,000m steeplechase national record four times before she hung up her spikes. The record has remained untouched for over a decade.