Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine July 2019 | Page 66

Lifestyle / Interview
interview
Zohri’s running talent was discovered
by his teacher Rosidah when he was
a junior high school student at SMPN 1
Pemenang in North Lombok, West Nusa
Tenggara. It took some time for Rosidah
to persuade the budding athlete
to focus on running, as his main
passion at the time was football.
However, Zohri’s decision to switch
sports couldn’t have been more perfect.
Just four years on from winning the 2015
West Nusa Tenggara regional school
athletics championship, he was making
international headlines and claiming
his place in the record books.
He was crowned Southeast Asia’s
fastest man in April, when he won silver
in the 100m at the 2019 Asian Athletics
Championships in Doha, Qatar. Finishing
in 10.13 seconds, he broke the regional
record of 10.17 seconds set by fellow
Indonesian sprinter Suryo Agung
Wibowo almost 10 years previously.
In May, Zohri broke his own record by
finishing in 10.03 seconds in the 100m
at the 2019 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in
Osaka, Japan – just 0.03 seconds away
from beating Olympic gold medallist
Justin Gatlin. His performance was fast
enough to secure a place in the 2020
Tokyo Olympics, a shave off the
qualification time of 10.05 seconds.
Two days after Zohri returned from
Japan, we met him at Jakarta’s Gelora
Bung Karno Madya Stadium, where
64
Indonesian sprinter
Lalu Muhammad Zohri
is only 19 years old, but
his achievements are
remarkable. His
incredible running
speed makes him the
fastest man ever in
Southeast Asia!