KENINGAU: Lim Zhe Han from Bingkor Zone was crowned Best Male Athlete while Hannah Verna from City Zone was named Best Female Athlete after record-breaking long jumps at the 2026 Keningau District Schools Sports Council (MSSD) Athletics Championships.
Held at the Keningau Sports Complex from June 22 to 26, the championships which was won by the City Zone team, brought together athletes from seven school zones across the district in a week of keen competition.
Despite clinching overall runners-up spot, Bingkor Zone’s contingent emerged as one of the competition’s biggest winners by producing the Best Male Athlete and playing a key role in the development of the Best Female Athlete through outstanding coaching.
Lim reigned supreme in boys’ sprint events. Stealing the spotlight was Lim of SK Tuarid Taud, representing Bingkor, who was crowned 2026 MSSD Keningau Best Male Athlete.
The 12-year-old sprint sensation dominated the Under-12 Boys’ 100 metres and 200 metres, capturing gold in both events to establish himself as the fastest young sprinter of the championships.
His impressive achievement was attributed to the dedication and guidance of his coach, Larry Maxentius, whose systematic training programme helped mould the young athlete’s discipline, confidence and competitive edge.
City Zone’s Hannah smashed record on her way to the Best Female Athlete award.
She claimed gold medals in the Under-12 Girls’ 200 metres and long jump, with her performance in the latter rewriting the championship record to set a new benchmark for the event.
Behind Hannah’s remarkable success was the expertise of teacher-coach Christopher Chin of SK Kampung Baru, who is attached to Bingkor zone.
His coaching played a significant role in developing the athlete into one of the championship’s standout performers.
The achievements of Lim and Hannah highlighted that the strength of a contingent is measured not only by its medal tally but also by its ability to nurture talented coaches capable of producing champions.
