Zaidatul, 31, representing the army, outpaced fellow national sprinter Azreen Nabila Alias, of the Malaysian Athletics Federation, who recorded 12.09s, while the bronze went to Beecity Squad athlete Nurul Faizah Asma’ Mazlan with a time of 12.43s.

However, Zaidatul expressed dissatisfaction as her timing (12.01s) this year was slower compared to last year’s tournament.

“Nevertheless, I am grateful (that I won). It’s the first competition of the year, and the target was to break the national record, but circumstances didn’t permit it,” she told reporters afterwards.

She is determined to break the national record at the 2024 National Sports Circuit Series 3 Championship, scheduled for either April or May.

The current national record for the women’s 100m is held by former national sprinter, G Shanti, who set a time of 11.50s in Kuala Lumpur on May 7, 1993.

In 2017, Zaidatul clocked a lower time of 11.36s at the ASA Speed Series 2 Championship in Bloemfontein, South Africa. However, it was not recognised by match officials an hour later due to wind assistance of 2.5 km/h.

Jonathan Nyepa takes men’s gold

In the men’s 100m of the championship, Jonathan Nyepa took gold with a time of 10.47s, leaving Haiqal Hanafi (10.59s) and Arsyad Saat (10.64s) in second and third place.

Jonathan expressed satisfaction, stating that his time was his best for the season, breaking the 10.5s mark from previous years.

“The competition was tough, and we challenged each other every day. Timing under 10.5s is the best, and I aimed for below 10.5s, so I’m happy with the result,” he said.