Malaysian sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi has equalled his national record to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

Representing Auburn University, the 22-year-old clocked a season-best time of 10.09 seconds to finish third in his heat during the competitive NCAA East quarter-finals in Lexington, Kentucky.

The performance secured his spot as one of the top 12 sprinters advancing from the region to the final stage of the prestigious collegiate tournament.

The feat matches his previous national record, which he initially set in 2022 during a breakout performance at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.

With this qualification, Azeem creates history as the first Malaysian athlete to advance to the NCAA Grand Final in the blue-riband 100m event. The highly anticipated finals are scheduled to take place in Oregon next month.

Azeem had already shown positive signs of form earlier in the preliminaries, where he clocked a solid 10.13 seconds in the opening round to smoothly secure his place in the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-final heat, the competition was razor-sharp. Penn State’s Ajani Dwyer claimed the top spot with a blistering time of 9.99 seconds, while Traunard Folson of Tennessee finished just ahead of Azeem in second place, clocking 10.04 seconds.

Azeem’s time placed him 10th fastest overall in the quarter-finals. The round was led by his Auburn teammate Kanyinsola Ajayi, who stormed through with the fastest time of the day at 9.84 seconds.

The 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medalist—who secured his podium finish in China with a time of 10.11 seconds—is currently hitting top form at the right time.

Following his historic stint at the NCAA Grand Finals in the United States, Azeem is scheduled to return home to compete on local soil. He will headline the upcoming Malaysia Open, which will be held at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) from June 19–21.