KUALA LUMPUR: Last Christmas, Shereen Samson Vallabouy didn't come home to Ipoh; she was training in the United States for the Sea Games and Asian Games.
This Christmas, Malaysia's track queen managed to make it home on Friday to celebrate with her family.
She can now look forward to a merry time with her parents, Samson Vallabouy and Josephine Mary — who were Sea Games track champions — and elder sister Jocelyn.
Shereen said this is the first time since 2021 that she is celebrating Christmas with her family.
The 25-year-old runner, who has been training under coach Derrick White in Florida since June 1, said: "It's really nice to spend the Christmas holidays with my family after missing two years of family reunion.
"It's wonderful to cherish this Christmas with peace, love and hope as we reunite as a family.
"My off-season training has been going great, my priority is to be laser focused for the upcoming 2024 track season.
"For now, I am just glad to be able to spend some quality time with my family before heading back to the United States.
"I am taking this opportunity to wish Malaysian Christians a Merry Christmas, and let us live in harmony with peace and love," said Shereen.
It has been a great year for Shereen in both sports and studies.
In March, she clocked 52.57 seconds to break the 400m national indoor record at the National Collegiate Athletics Association Division II Championships in Virginia.
A month later, Shereen posted 51.80s at the St Mac Relays Invitational Elite competition in California to break the 30-year-old women's national 400m record of 52.56s set by Abdul Rabia Salam at the Asian Championships in Manila.
She kept the family tradition going by winning the women's 400m gold in 52.53s at the Phnom Penh Sea Games in May.
In August, she broke the national 200m record by clocking 23.33s in Memphis, US.
And Shereen's best achievements of the year were winning two Asian Games bronze medals — 400m and 4x100m relay at the Hangzhou Asian Games in October.
In the paper chase, Shereen graduated with a degree in recreation and tourism from Winona State University in Minnesota early this month.
Having featured in last year's World Championships in Eugene, US, and Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Shereen now hopes to run in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
To do so, she needs to equal or beat the qualifying mark of 50.95s by the end of June.
So, what Shereen wants for Christmas is to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.