Bandar Seri Begawan - Maziah Mahusin and Ak Hafiy Tajuddin Pg Rositi both clinched gold for Brunei-Muara in the 400m finals as expected, however, it was not the Brunei-Muara's Olympic duo who was the centre of attention, but an athlete who is over a decade their junior, who caused a few jaws to drop and is already on her way to becoming Brunei's future athletics darling.

Eight-year-old Dk Nurul Syafiqah Pg Hj Zainal of Kuala Belait stunned spectators at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium last night as she finished second in the 5,000m women's final in an impressive 25:19.44, one lap behind gold medallist Judy Leslie of BSP, who completed the 5km race in 23:16.83.

Nurul beat six other finalists who were over twice her age, including two members of MS ABDB, and more impressively finished almost a minute ahead of bronze medallist Norazemah Aliakbar, who clocked in at 26:05.84.

The Year 3 student from Sekolah Rendah Pg Setia Jaya Pg Abdul Momin has already made a name for herself after winning the 17-year-old and below category of the National Day Run 2012 in Kuala Belait earlier this year, and her performance in the 5,000m final last night showed that under the right supervision, the spritely runner may very well be pulling on the yellow and black tracksuit in the Olympic Games in the future.