PUTRAJAYA, Jan 5 — The athletes who will be absorbed into the Podium Programme will be known by the end of the month, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

Khairy said athletes who have been offered contracts for the programme, which will be under the National Sports Institute (ISN), are in the process of signing off on them.

“Delays in the implementation of the programme is due to an in-depth study carried out by athletes on the various terms and conditions under the contract,” he told reporters after announcing details of the 2016 Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL) at the Youth and Sports Ministry here today.

“We need to ensure that they (athletes) agree to the conditions set under the contract.

“The delay was also due to feedback from the national sports associations.”

The Podium Programme is a development programme to prepare athletes for the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo. It is an extension to the “Road to Rio” project.

Athletes who are identified as the cream of the crop will be drafted into the programme and prepared for the task through a package that includes training, coaching, diet and sports science.

On the yet to be ratified national 100m record of young sprinter Badrul Hisham Abdul Manap, Khairy said the Malaysian Athletics Union (MAU) should be able to make an announcement.

“The Education Ministry has submitted their report to the MAU about Badrul’s record. The details are there for the MAU to make a decision,” he said.

Bernama had reported that the MAU were waiting for a report from the Brunei Amateur Athletics Union before deciding on the validity of the time Badrul set at the Asean Schools Games in Brunei.

Badrul had cracked the 17-year-old record of Sarawakian Watson Nyambek of 10.30s by setting a time of 10.29s but the media had reported the absence of a wind gauge and photo finish.

Both are mandatory for the world governing body IAAF to ratify records. — Bernama