KUALA TERENGGANU: Although his vision is impaired, 12-year-old Adam Zakaria Mohd Fakhruddin crossed the finish line at the Sultan Mahmud Bridge International Run 2019, after running a distance of eight kilometres today.
The youngster who ran for the first time at such an event with the support of his nine-year-old brother Muhammad Fathurrohman Mohd Fakhruddin, was not confident initially about entering the competition but his family and teachers spurred him on.
“Now that I’ve completed the run, I feel great and plan to do other runs,” Adam Zakaria told Bernama at Dataran Batu Burok here.
The Year Six pupil at Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas Kuala Terengganu who was born with impairment, urged other special needs youngsters to take part in such activities to prove that they can do the same things which able-bodied individuals do.
Another special needs participant at the competition was legless Mohd Shahabudin Othman, 45, who completed the 12 km event on his wheelchair, marking the third consecutive year that he took part in the competition.
He was grateful for the assistance he received from able-bodied runners at hilly stretches of the event, saying “Thankfully, they were kind enough to help me although they too had to focus on completing the run”.
The international competition which attracted 25,500 participants including some 200 foreigners, featured five categories of runs comprising 41 km, 21 km, 12 km, 8 km and 5 km, with prize money totalling RM165,500. — Bernama
