135 athletes representing Qatar, Oman and Kuwait to compete until 22 February
The 10th Gulf Championships for boys and 7th for girls officially open at 4:30pm today, Wednesday, hosted by Doha over three days from 20-22 February at the track and field of Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium at Qatar SC.
135 athletes are taking part in the championships, representing Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, which confirmed their participation despite the invitation being extended to all Gulf countries to take part in this edition.
Competition will take place in morning and evening sessions. This morning’s action begins at 8am with the decathlon, starting with the boys’ 100m and long jump, and the boys’ 5kg shot put, while the girls’ 3kg shot put final takes place in the morning session at 9:10.
The evening session of the first day begins at 4:15pm, with the opening ceremony starting at 4:30pm with a march-past and the official announcement of the start of competition, followed by several finals starting at 5pm, beginning with the 700g javelin throw, pole vault and boys’ 100m, after which the winners of the morning’s girls’ shot put will be presented with their medals.
The girls’ long jump final is also held at 5:20pm, followed by the high jump for the boys’ decathlon, and then the girls’ 100m final.
After Maghrib prayers, the winners of the boys’ and girls’ 100m are presented with their medals, then the 5kg shot put final, the 3,000m and the 110m hurdles for boys, and the 500g javelin throw for girls take place, followed by the medal ceremony for the boys’ javelin throw and 3,000m.
From 7pm, the girls’ 400m final begins, along with the long jump and 400m, followed by the medal ceremony for the boys’ pole vault champions and the girls’ long jump and javelin throw champions.
The curtain falls on the first day’s competition with the 400m as part of the boys’ decathlon, followed by the medal ceremony for the 110m hurdles, 400m and shot put for boys, and the girls’ 400m. Khalid Rashid Al Marri, director of the Qatari team taking part in the championships, confirmed that Qatar would field 52 athletes in the men’s category, who would compete with their brothers in all the races and events, and that the participants had prepared well for the championships through camps and training over the past days.
For her part, Ahlam Al Abdullah, director of the women’s team, confirmed that Qatar would field 14 female athletes in the championships, who would compete in a large number of races and events. Al Abdullah said the participants were fully ready to compete against their counterparts from the participating countries, to deliver the hoped-for level and climb the championships’ podiums.
The Gulf Junior Athletics Championships is one of four major athletics championships Doha will host this year, to be followed by the Asian Championships for seniors from 20-24 April, then the Diamond League on 3 May, and the biggest event, the World Championships, from 28 September to 4 October this year.
Photo captions: the championships’ logo – competition at Qatar SC – from the athletics events – a scene from the technical meeting
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“Al Kuwari” chairman of the supreme organising committee
The championships’ supreme organising committee is chaired by HE Dr Thani bin Abdulrahman Al Kuwari, the Federation’s chairman, while Mohammed Issa Al Fadala, secretary-general, serves as championships director, with Khalifa Abdulmalik as chairman of the accommodation and transport committee, and golden arrow Talal Mansour…
