Malaysia –The 19-year-old Iskandar will be making his ATF debut and is one of several young talented athletes emerging from the ashes of the Malaysian Athletic Federation’s previous disastrous regime. ISKANDAR Alwi knows that to win a medal at the Asian Track and Field Championships today is wishful thinking and will instead attempt to rewrite the national pole vault record he broke earlier this year. Iskandar is ranked ninth of 14 vaulters on the entry list, which is led by China’s Xue Changrui with a season’s best of 5.65m. “The standard of the competition is very high and I will be one of the few to start at a lower entry of around 4.60m,” said Iskandar, whose national record is 5.01m, ahead of the seven-member squad’s departure on Sunday. “I just have to focus on my own performance and not worry about the others. “I will take it step by step and hope to break the national record.”Iskandar is adjusting to new poles, which are longer than the one he used to set the new national record at the FTKLAA All-Comers meet in March. “When switching to longer poles, it involves several changes to my technique. “I have to add a few more steps to my run up and I also have to allow for more space to ground the pole into position and make the vault. “It’s working well so far and I came close to breaking the record at the Johor Open (last month) but could not clear 5.05m.”
Read more: ATHLETICS: Iskandar wants to soar – Other – New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/athletics-iskandar-wants-to-soar-1.311970#ixzz2Y161OiMt
