Kota Kinabalu: Dr. Alison Chew achieved her lifelong dream of securing a podium finish in every major masters’ championship at the 2026 World Masters Athletics Championships (WMAC) in Daegu, South Korea, on Sunday.
Competing in the women’s 40-44 age category, she clocked 1:11.48 in the 400m hurdles to take third, trailing Australia’s Alison Von Moger (1:06.71) and champion Joanna Derbier of France (1:04.64).
“I am relieved and proud to come home with a medal from the World Masters Athletics Championships 2026 in Daegu. This is the ultimate cherry on top.
“Two years ago, I missed out on podium in Sweden, and wondered if I would ever be able to achieve my dream in such a highly competitive field.
“Crossing the finish line in third place was absolutely surreal. At that exact moment, I felt like I was on top of the world!“I have finally accomplished my goal of becoming a medallist at all the major Masters Athletics competitions – Asia Masters, World Masters Games and now World Masters Athletics,” she said on Wednesday.
However, she revealed that her journey leading up to the championship was not without challenges.
“I had been dealing with an on-and-off hamstring injury, followed by another hip injury just four months before WMAC. Mentally, it was incredibly challenging to stay patient with rehabilitation while not knowing whether I would recover in time to compete.
“Thankfully, under the guidance of coach Fahrul, who tailored my training programme to my condition, I made significant progress in the month before the competition.
“This journey taught me that setbacks, injuries and doubts are not the end of a dream. Sometimes, the road is just longer than expected. Now, it’s time for a few months of off-season recovery before I lock in my next big goal: the World Masters Games in Kansai, Japan in 2027,” she concluded.