AYG triple jumper Nurshaishireen: “For a moment, I believe that I can fly…”

By Colin Tung/Red Sports

Triple jumper Nurshaishireen Binte Mohamad Rahim, 16, will get a chance to step out of the shadows and onto a bigger stage in the upcoming Asian Youth Games.

A Secondary 4 student at the Singapore Sports School, Shireen, as she is known to her friends, started her rise in the triple jump charts with a maiden win in the triple jump event at the national schools championships this year after finishing fourth in the last two years.

At that meet, Shireen, who turns 16 on October 18, jumped a personal best distance of 10.88m to capture gold.

A month later, at the National Juniors Track and Field Championships in May, she bettered her personal best mark with a 11.05m against a headwind, to win the under-17 girls’ triple jump and set a championship record as well.

She counts that performance as her proudest achievement in track and field so far.

Shireen may just be one of many in the brood of young and budding jumpers that Singapore Sports School coach Valeri Obidko has nurtured. But one thing is for certain, she has stepped out of the shadows of her arguably more illustrious schoolmates, Mariam Shazana and Nurul Jannah, to take her place as Singapore’s representative in the triple jump at the AYG.

“I am not the strongest in my training group (which consists of national triple jump record holder Mariam Shazana and national junior long jump record holder Nurul Jannah) so I did not fathom breaking a record. I only expected a personal best performance,” said Shireen.

“I had to read the results a few times to fully comprehend the achievement. I called my mother and a good friend of mine after that to tell them about it,” she added.

When asked what possible factors helped her to her record-breaking feat, Shireen let us in on a secret, her ‘secret notes’ to be precise.

“My school taught us to keep secret notes with us that would motivate us in what we are doing. For me, I had three written down which were: ‘Charge like a bull’, ‘Long and low’, and ‘Strong legs’.”

Her recent results suggest that she is coming into form just in time for the AYG and her latest foray into what was previously for her uncharted territory in the 11m region, together with her secret notes, should give her a healthy dose of confidence.

She first learned of her inclusion in the AYG squad through an announcement in school by Dr Irwin Seet, director of sports at the Sports School.

“I had to process it. I usually only get selected for smaller meets so for such a big event, I was quite shocked to be selected but nonetheless happy,” said the diminutive and humble jumper.

Training with Mariam and Nurul, the national and junior record holders respectively, has provided Shireen with inspiration, especially from Mariam.

“Every time I hear her going for a meet, she breaks a record… She is consistently striving to improve and that is one trait I would like to adopt,” she added.

When asked what it is about triple jump that she enjoys, she said, “When you jump, you get a certain bouncy feeling. For a moment, you believe that you can fly in the air and that’s the greatest feeling for me.”

Keep flying, Shireen.