KUALA LUMPUR: National para long jump champion, Datuk Abdul Latif Romly continued to chalked up honours for the country when he won the world title for the fourth time at the World Para Athletics Championships Kobe 2024 in Japan, today.
The success came after the 27-year-old athlete recorded 7.30 metres (m) to win the T20 (intellectual Impairment) long jump gold medal after the first, third, fourth and fifth jumps were cancelled and he only managed 6.34m in the last jump.
He had won the Doha 2015, London 2017 and Paris 2023 editions.
Meanwhile, Chala Espinoza of Ecuador and Obando Asprilla of Colombia won the silver (6.95m) and bronze (6.84m) respectively.
Another national representative, Zulkifly Abdullah finished the competition in 12th place out of 13 participants after recording a distance of 6.02m.
Earlier, the Perlis-born athlete confirmed his slot for the 2024 Paris Paralympics after winning the gold medal in the World Para Athletics Championship in Paris, France last year with a record of 7.40m.
Latif is the defending Paralympic champion for two consecutive times after winning the gold medal in the 2016 edition in Rio and Tokyo 2020.
