...continued from page one He seemed very up and chatty today and I didn't think it was the prospect of being photographed in a Valentino suit. "You know, yesterday at Lot 10 I was so embarrassed. So many people recognised me, even with my baseball cap on," he told me happily. I looked disapprovingly at the failed disguise of a New York Yankees cap he wore again today. He was wearing a gray tee shirt, cut-off jean shorts and those black rubber pseudo-Birkenstocks sandals. With those prominent, California-made sprinter thigh muscles on display today, I didn't think he was very well disguised either this time. "I supposed they must have recognised you from the pictures in the newspapers. Or all those photos in the Malay majallah like Remaja and Mangga," I said. "No, not just Malay girls were pointing in my direction and saying 'Azmi Ibrahim, Azmi Ibrahim', but Indian, Chinese girls too, everybody," he said a little indignantly. "Who are you meeting today? The same friends?" I asked. "No, yes. Just one friend. She's still in school. She's a part-time model, you know. She's waiting for me in one of the shops at Lot 10." he said. "We're kinda late aren't we?" I remarked. "She knows I'm coming. She'll wait," he said. Then I asked him about Watson Nyambek. "Are you friends with Watson?" "Yeah, he's a friend," he said. "How long have you known him?" I continued. "I have known Watson since 1993 at the MSSM. We were in the 100m final together. I was first, and Watson was second. I clocked 10.7 seconds. As for being friends, we're okay. It is the media which has been causing problems. They say I don't talk to Watson; they say I said this about Watson; and that Watson said this about me," he said. "What about now? I mean would you, for example, go to the movies with him?" I asked. "I used to go out with Watson before; play games together; go everywhere together. But now it is sometimes good, sometimes not good," he replied. He also admitted that he is not 100% popular with the press. "Some people, they try to block me by writing that I no longer want to report to Bangi. They like to write that I give problems all the time," he complained. "Do you have a difficult personality to control?" I asked. "Yes. I don't really like to listen to authority," he said, and added that he doesn't care about what the media thinks about him. When asked what happened that day at SUKMA at the 100m finals, he just shook his head, and said he never quite got the feel of the race. "Maybe the media had created too much friction between Watson and I. There was so much pressure, and so many stories going back and forth," he said. "I like the 200m; I have the endurance for it and the body size for the curve. I clocked 21.17 seconds at SUKMA. I need to do 21.04 seconds to qualify for the Olympics," said Azmi. I remarked that that was a lot of time to shave off. "I can do it if there is a fight, and there will be about eight races I can compete in when we go to Europe next week," he said. "My problem is with my start. I've had starting block problems for two or three years now. Watson's start is very good. He's got power." We were nearing Sunway Lagoon where he asked to be dropped off with his tall model companion to meet with other friends. So I asked him a last question---how much does what he needs to achieve in the next few weeks worry him? Can he sleep at night? "I don't consider the negative possibilities. There are so many chances for me to perform well. Besides, I have to look beyond the Olympics; it is not the end-all and be-all of my career. But I shall probably think about my race at Atlanta one or two nights before the run, to get the feeling of it, what it will feel like on the starting blocks..." he muses as his concentration wanders. It's hard to think of this sometimes swaggering young man having sleepless nights but even handsome hunks are human at the end of the day.
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