TAIPING: Sabah farmer Milton Amat gave himself a belated birthday present when he finished third in the men’s 100-kilometre (km) category at the Malaysia Ultra Trail UTMB here today. The Pekan Nabulu-born Milton, who turned 42 two days ago, completed the race in 12 hours, 2 minutes and 18 seconds (12:02:18s), finishing behind China’s Duo Ji (11:01:18s) and Bai Xingzhi (12:00:49s).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Milton expressed his satisfaction with his performance despite narrowly missing the runner-up position by a few minutes. “My biggest challenge was having to climb Bukit Larut twice. I am thankful I had no serious issues throughout the race. Although I was just a few minutes behind the runner-up, I am not disappointed as I have done my best,” he said.

The third-place finish has earned Milton an automatic qualification for the UTMB World Series Finals in Chamonix, France, in August next year. Looking ahead to the World Series Finals, Milton is hopeful about securing sponsorships to support his part
icipation and represent Malaysia on the international stage. “If I have sponsors, maybe I will go because I will need about RM10,000 (to compete in Chamonix). I will try to raise some funds first,” he added.

In the women’s 100km race, China Lin Chen claimed victory with a time of 13:15:16s, narrowly edging out Vietnam’s Ha Thi Hau by just one second. Angelie Cabalo of the Philippines secured the third spot, finishing in 16:14:37s.