Eljoe's Stellar Feat Captures National Coach's Attention
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- The talent and performance of Eljoe Gotouh, who won the gold medal in the men's long jump T20 (intellectual disability) at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Sarawak, recently caught the eye of national para long jump head coach, Shahrul Amri Suhaimi.
Shahrul Amri said his team is currently waiting for the green light from the National Sports Council to absorb the athlete from Sabah into the national para athletics camp next year.
"It is hoped that next year Eljoe will be able to enter the squad (para athletics camp) because his personal best result is okay, which is 7.02 metres (m).
"We will try to polish him to become a close competitor or the next Datuk Abdul Latif Romly, God willing," he said when met after the post-evaluation session of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games here, yesterday.
He said that among the strategies that need to be implemented to improve Eljoe's performance is to better his jump distance by at least 0.30 to 0.40 m from his current personal best.
If the athlete manages to cover such a distance, it is not impossible that he will be able to compete in the 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan or the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“If possible, we want to target two national representatives in the men's T20 long jump event at the 2028 Paralympic Games,” he said.
-- BERNAMA
