Teenage 400m runner Maziah Mahusin spoke of her pride Friday at becoming the first woman from Brunei to represent her country at an Olympic Games after racing to a new national record in London. Mahusin, who carried the flag for the small Asian nation in last week’s opening ceremony in London, was the last to finish in heat six of the women’s 400m, more than eight seconds behind the winner. But the smiling 19-year-old, who said she was nervous in front of the packed and vocal crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium, said she was thrilled to run a personal best and new national record of 59.28sec. “I’m really proud, even though I didn’t win anything, even though I didn’t get into the semi-final or whatever,” she said. When asked to compare the experience with carrying out the flag of the small oil-rich monarchy, she said: “It’s different. I feel really happy, really excited. I was really nervous but I managed to do well.”
