Jonathan (center) being greeted by his mother Susan Wong (sixth right) together with friends and family at KKIA on Saturday.
KOTA KINABALU (Feb 17): It may be one of the best ‘angpows’ Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen ever received in this Year of the Dragon when her eldest son, Jonathan Wong Kar Gee, returned home with a gold medal from the Dubai 2024 World Para Athletics Grand Prix on Saturday.
Jonathan topped the T11/T12 men’s (vision impairment) long jump event with a record leap of 6.80 meters (m) to clinch the gold, edging out challenger Chen Shichang of China who took silver (6.39m) and Russia’s Maksim Shavrikov for the bronze medal (6.08m).
Speaking to the media upon arrival at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Saturday morning, the 32-year-old said he was lucky to have won a gold medal in the competition.
“I have achieved my seasonal best but I’m hoping to achieve my personal best which is 7.22 meters, hopefully I can do that in the next competition (Kobe 2024 Para Athletics World Championships).
“Hopefully I’ll be at my peak performance at that time,” he said.
When asked about the obstacles he faced especially when being away from home during the Chinese New Year celebration, Jonathan said it was quieter not having Chinese New Year meals with his family.
“But I am grateful to have friends from the Malaysian team and we had Chinese New Year decorations on February 10.
“After being away for nine days, now I am back and I can celebrate Chinese New Year with my family,” he said.
Meanwhile, Susan said this was the best present she and her family received in the Year of the Dragon.
“When my son told me he had to join the competition in Dubai, I said ‘it’s Chinese New Year and you are going away?’, but he was very determined to go, so we wished him all the best.
“He really made his dream come true by getting the gold medal,” she said.
Susan, who is WSG Group managing director, said she supported her son and told him not to worry but to concentrate on the competition.
“We did not want to add any stress on him, we told him to relax and enjoy the competition.
“We didn’t expect any gold medal but when he got it, we are very happy for him,” she said.
Jonathan was among the eight Malaysian athletes to have won medals for the country – four golds, two silvers and two bronzes, in the Dubai 2024 World Para Athletics Grand Prix which was held from Feb 12-15.
Also at the KKIA were State Sports Council Deputy Director II Alissa Alha and Department of Youth and Sports Assistant Director Fedrius Jumi.