Juliana Gumpil | Malysia
Juliana Gumpil was born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia in 1963. She
worked as a dietitian for the Ministry of Health Malaysia for 25 years. She
has been active in sports since her school and college days, and began
participating in Master Athletics Championship in 2004.
Ms. Gumpil has participated in three World Masters Championships
competing in the 60m and 100m sprints, and the long jump events, with
her best results being in 2018 Malaga Spain where she placed 4 th in long
jump for the 55-59 age category.
She has also competed in the International Masters Championships held
in Singapore, Thailand, and in Brunei winning gold medals in all events.
To date, she has competed in 9 Asia Masters Championships, where she
won 35 gold medals and set 11 new championship records, of which 8
remain unbroken. In the long jump, her strongest event, she is the
current record holder for age groups 45-49, 50-54, 55-59 and 60-64.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lucy Yong
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lucy Yong
She has participated in all Malaysia Masters Championships held between 2004 and 2023. During these championships, she won gold medals in all events she participated in and has broken several meet records. Presently,
Ms Gumpil holds more Malaysia masters Championship records of any other Malaysian masters athlete.
Ms. Gumpil’s excellent performance in track and field has been widely
acknowledged, having been awarded 13 Best Female Awards by the Malaysia
Master Athletics Association, Sabah Masters Athletics Association, Ministry of Health Malaysia and Penampang Masters Athletics Club.
Ms. Gumpil has also been active in and committed to promoting track and
field sport among children in her hometown of Penampang, Sabah, offering free training for those that come from low-income families and among her colleagues in the Masters group. Some of these children have shown excellent performance in their school sports meets, including three who have been awarded as the best athletes of the year in their respective schools.
Additionally, two have been selected to represent their school at state level games. Her long-term goals are to offer more opportunities for underprivileged children to excel in sport, and to build confidence among
them for competing in higher level competitions.
Finally, Ms. Gumpil has played an important role in the establishment of the local masters’ athletic club, and is currently the Secretary of the Penampang Master Athletic Club.
