Salman to etch his name in the record books...

Salman Ali Shariati Abdul Hali, 14, will etch himself into the Malaysian book of records as he will be the youngest triathlete to complete a 12KM swim, 540KM cycling and 126KM.

Form 2 student from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gunung Rapat, Salman has achieved many feats since he was 7 years old and his rise to prominence came at the age of 8 when he swam in the Straits of Melaka with his sister, Zahra Ma’soumah to become the youngest swimmer to complete a long distance swim.

Since then, Salman has been an icon for many teenagers around Malaysia as he continued to test his limit by participating in marathons and taking part in triathlon competition.

Today, he was part of the ‘1Malaysia Go Green 2011” event in which students from the Perak Sports School and Ungku Omar Polytechnic Institution gathered to participate in an eco awareness campaign and also support Salman in his quest to complete the 126KM run.

The program which started on the 6^th October, started at Sungai Dinding, Lumut and today’s closing was done at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Field, Ipoh.

The idea for this program was generated when the boy from Setiawan had to face many challenges due to environmental pollution when he swam the Straits of Melaka. From rubbishes in the sea to open burning, Salman wanted to create awareness among the public and the youngsters about the ill effects of environmental pollution.

Datuk Zainol Fadzi Paharuddin, Perak's Exco for Culture, Arts, Youth and Sports, officiated the closing ceremony for the program lauded the efforts of Salman and stated that the state government will always promote environmental conservation in Perak and also Malaysia.

“Though, he has yet to complete his record attempt but I’m proud of him for creating awareness among all of us about the importance of environmental conservation.

“With such determination and spirit, whatever setbacks or hardships he has faced, youngsters should take note of his efforts and follow him in his dream to promote environmental conservation” said Datuk Zainol.

Datuk Zainol also stated that when it comes to conserving the nature, high awareness is needed to promote it and at the same time the involvement of youngster should be there as they are the ones who can make the change and do the change.

Salman, whom the Peraknews team interviewed, stated that he always wants to prove his worth as an athlete and this challenge has been an arduous one according to him.

“I fall from my bike yesterday and also had difficulties to swim thanks as I had to go through debris and rubbish in the sea.

“However, it did not deter me to stop and I had an added enthusiasm to complete the event as I want to create awareness among the youngsters in Perak about the state of our environment which is slowly diminishing by the day count” said Salman

Avinesh says: When i was 14, Playstation and Television was my passion! Salute this KID!! =)