The unsung coach who shaped three Olympians Suppiah Ramalingam

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                  "Farewell to the unsung coach who shaped three Olympians"


Perak track guru Suppiah Ramalingam, who shaped three Olympians, one of them within 180 days, has died at the age of 94.

Suppiah breathed his last at a physio and care facility here on Sunday, about two weeks after suffering a stroke. The wake will be at 33, Jalan Bandar Baru Tambun 6, Bandar Baru Tambun in Ipoh before the cremation today at 3pm.


https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/05/24/farewell-to-the-unsung-coach-who-shaped-three-olympians/



Suppiah ramalingam was a coach who shaped accidental runners into olmpians. one of them was former queen of speed M Rajamani, Malaysia’s first female Olympian, who qualified for the 400m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics after 180 days under Suppiah. she won twice as National Sportswoman of the Year, seven-time Seap Games gold medallist and an Asian Games gold medallist.

in his 90's, suppiah still had the strength to train more athletes in such as karu, victor asirvatham, V sangaran kutty nair and many more. 

His training method required athletes running repeatedly over a set distance, as Rajamani did, in scorching heat across rivers, up steep sandy dunes on tin-mining land and carrying weights under coconut trees at the YMCA ground.

“The real killer, however, was that each distance would be done at a faster speed than the one previous, while the recovery period in between would become progressively shorter,” said Suppiah.

He travelled widely to broaden his coaching skills and observe world class runners, paying his own fare to three Olympics – Tokyo 1964, Seoul 1988 and Sydney 2000 – and several other international meets.
 

Decades after Suppiah made a major contribution to shaping Malaysian athletics, its very saddening that he has been ignored;

“What has the nation done for me in recognition of my services to athletics?” he lamented. While his biggest joy was having produced Olympians, regional and national champions. 


further reading;

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2022/04/10/forgotten-coach-who-made-accidental-runners-into-olympians/

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