Azizulhasni Awang
Who was Azizulhasni Awang?
Olympic bronze medalist track cyclist who won Malaysia's first Olympic medal in cycling at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the men's keirin event.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Azizulhasni Awang (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Dato' Muhammad Azizulhasni Awang was born on 5 January 1988 in Kuala Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia. A professional track cyclist based in Melbourne, Australia, he has built a career spanning more than two decades at the highest levels of competitive cycling. Educated at Victoria University in Melbourne, he developed his skills in an environment that placed him among elite international talent, sharpening the technical and physical attributes that would eventually make him one of Asia's most decorated track cyclists. Standing at a notably small stature, he earned the nickname 'The Pocket Rocketman,' a title that reflects both his physical profile and his explosive competitive style.
Azizulhasni first gained international recognition when he was selected as Malaysia's national flag bearer at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, a role that underscored his stature within the country's sporting community even before he had claimed a major championship medal. The following year, at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, he claimed a silver medal in the individual sprint, signalling that he was capable of competing at the very top of the discipline. Over the years that followed, he continued to accumulate experience on the international circuit, competing regularly at World Championship events and building toward the Olympic podium.
His debut Olympic medal arrived at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he won a bronze medal in the men's keirin event, becoming the first Malaysian cyclist to win an Olympic medal. This achievement represented a landmark moment for Malaysian sport. He built on this success in 2017 by winning his first UCI Track Cycling World Championship title in the keirin, becoming the first Malaysian ever to wear the rainbow jersey awarded to world champions in their discipline. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he competed again in the men's keirin and won a silver medal, adding to his Olympic legacy and cementing his place as the most decorated Malaysian Olympic cyclist in history.
Azizulhasni also made history as the first Malaysian athlete to compete at five Summer Olympics, a feat that speaks to both his longevity and his consistency as a competitor across multiple Olympic cycles. His participation at the 2024 Paris Olympics, however, ended in disappointment. Competing in the men's keirin qualifier, he was disqualified for moving ahead of the derny motorbike used as a pacer before it had left the track. National track head coach John Beasley acknowledged that the disqualification was justified under the rules, describing the incident as a monumental mistake. Despite this setback, his overall career record remains one of the most distinguished in Malaysian sporting history.
Before Fame
Azizulhasni Awang grew up in Kuala Dungun, a coastal town in the state of Terengganu on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. Cycling as a competitive discipline had a modest but growing presence in Malaysia during the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the national federation working to develop talent capable of competing on the international stage. Azizulhasni emerged through this developmental structure and showed sufficient promise to be supported for international competition at a young age.
His path to prominence took him to Melbourne, Australia, where he pursued higher education at Victoria University while training in one of the southern hemisphere's most competitive track cycling environments. This combination of academic grounding and elite training infrastructure proved formative. By the time he represented Malaysia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as flag bearer at the age of just twenty, he had already established himself as a nationally significant figure in Malaysian sport, setting the stage for the championship medals that would follow over the next decade and a half.
Key Achievements
- Won a bronze medal in the men's keirin at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the first Malaysian cyclist to win an Olympic medal
- Won a silver medal in the men's keirin at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- Claimed the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championship title in the keirin, becoming the first Malaysian to wear the rainbow jersey
- Won a silver medal in the individual sprint at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
- Became the first Malaysian athlete to compete at five Summer Olympic Games
Did You Know?
- 01.Azizulhasni Awang was Malaysia's national flag bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, a rare honor for an athlete who had yet to win a major championship medal at the time.
- 02.He is known by the nickname 'The Pocket Rocketman,' a reference to his small physical stature combined with his high-speed sprinting ability on the velodrome.
- 03.At the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, he became the first Malaysian athlete in any sport to wear the rainbow jersey, the iconic garment awarded to world champions in cycling.
- 04.He was disqualified from the 2024 Paris Olympics men's keirin qualifier for overtaking the derny pace motorbike before it had exited the track, a clear violation of keirin race rules.
- 05.Azizulhasni is the first and only Malaysian athlete to have competed in five Summer Olympic Games, spanning from Beijing 2008 through Paris 2024.