SWELTERING heat reaching nearly 40°C did not stop national women’s hammer thrower Grace Wong from achieving double success at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia today. 

Besides defending the gold medal, Grace broke the record of 59.24m that she had set in 2017 with a distance of 61.87m in her fourth throw on the first day of athletics at the Morodok Techo National Stadium. 

Her compatriot Nurul Hidayah Lukman clinched bronze with a throw of 49.61m while the silver medal was won by Mingkamon Koomphon from Thailand (57.86m). 

“I like the hot weather more, like in Malaysia, and it helped me to do well here in the SEA Games,” Wong told reporters afterwards. 

Admitting she had been nervous about today’s competition, the 23-year-old was thankful and satisfied with the outcome. 

She said undergoing training in Chengdu, China for almost three months really helped her clinch another gold at the SEA Games. 

Wong hopes to break her record of 62.48m at the World University Games in Chengdu, China this July. 

Meanwhile, Nurul Hidayah was happy to bring home a medal in her SEA Games debut, even though she could not beat her personal record of 52.49m that she achieved at the ASEAN University Games last year. 

The 22-year-old thanked the National Sports Council and the Malaysian Athletics Federation for their support and assistance over the years including sending her to train in China for a month before coming to Cambodia. – Bernama, May 8, 2023.