Kota Kinabalu: Ceril Yapp, one of the State’s longest serving athletics coaches, has passed away at the age of 70, after a long battle with a heart condition at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II here on Saturday.
He was surrounded by family members, peers and many of his students when he breathed his last at 8.51pm.
The well respected coach’s career spanned over four decades starting with the Sabah Sports Board in the early 90s before joining Sabah Sports Council in 2010 until 2024.
Despite his failing health, he continued to train his students at the Likas Stadium after his departure from Sabah Sports Council until a few months ago when his condition got worse.
He was renowned for his speed on track back in his younger days and had won the National Schools 110m hurdles title for the State in the early seventies.
He also excelled in karate and was the national kumite open champion multiple times in the eighties and delivered a bronze medal for the country at the Jakarta SEA Games in 1987.
