Alnakhli sets new world mark in men’s discus

The second day of competition at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Tunis, Tunisia, on Tuesday (24 March) brought yet another world record in the field, as Saudi Arabia’s Paralympic silver medallist Hani Alnakhli triumphed in the men’s discus F33/34.

Alnakhli (F33), who won world discus bronze in Lyon, France, 20 months ago, threw an impressive 29.50m in his penultimate attempt to confirm victory, and a new world record, with a score of 892 points.

Tunisia’s Mohamed Ali Krid (F34) finished second with 35.39m (760 points), with Algeria’s Kamel Kardjena (F33) third with 24.70m (311 points).

Algeria’s Safia Djelal (F57), who set a new world record in the women’s javelin F55/56/57 on Monday (23 March), continued to dominate the field – this time in the women’s shot put F55/56/57 – topping the podium with a best of 10.53m (987 points).

Algeria’s world bronze medallist Nassima Saifi (F57) threw over 10 metres in three out of her six attempts but had to settle for second place, with her compatriot Nadia Medjmedj (F57) in third.

Out on the track, Tunisia’s quadruple T34 world champion Walid Ktila underlined his status as the man to beat in 2015 as he notched up his third win of the Grand Prix, which doubles as the 9th Tunis International Meeting, this time in the 200m T33/34.

The 29-year-old clocked 28.4 (manual timing) to take the win ahead of Kuwait’s T33 world record holder Ahmad Almutairi, who finished in 32.00.

Tunisia’s Yassine Gharbi also enjoyed a second day of success at the Rades Athletics Stadium. Winner over 400m and 800m on Monday, Gharbi added victory in the 200m T52/53/54 to his impressive tally, crossing the line in 27.27. Algeria’s Maamar Harachif took second place just 0.36 seconds behind.

Algeria’s world 200m T37 bronze medallist Sofiane Hamdi won the men’s 200m T35/36/37/38 in a time of 24.2 (manual timing), with his compatriot Hichem Laiche (T37) taking second place in 26.5.

In the women’s 100m T20/36/37/38/47, Nigeria’s Unyime Uwak finished first, clocking 13.41 with the Tunisian trio Amel Aouina (T20), Neda Bahi (T37) and Sonia Mansour (T38) finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Another day and another win too for Tunisia’s Abbes Saidi (T38). The world silver medallist clinched victory in the men’s 1,500m T37/38 to add to his win over two laps on the opening day of competition.

Saidi, ranked number two in the world over 1,500m behind Australia’s Deon Kenzie, clocked 4:23.0 (manual timing), with Hafid Aharak of Morocco and Madjid Djemai of Algeria finishing second and third – a reversal of their final positions in the 800m.

Algeria’s Abdellatif Baka also made it a middle distance double, adding victory in the men’s 1,500m T13 to his win over 800m 24 hours earlier. The world champion clocked 4:05.83, getting the better of Morocco’s Abdelillah Mame for the second day in a row, while Kenya’s Paralympic silver medallist David Korir finished third.

Tunisia’s Fethi Zouinkhi meanwhile turned the tables on his countryman Yassine Gharbi in the men’s 1,500m T54, getting the better of the man who beat him to victory over 800m the day before as he stopped the clock in 3:50.5 (manual timing), with Gharbi just over a second behind.

Turkey’s Oguz Akbulut (T12) saw off a strong field in the men’s 1,500m T11/12, winning in 4:16.98. Kenyan duo Henry Kirwa (T12) and Wilson Bii (T11) took second and third in 4:19.64 and 4:22.13 respectively.

There was a convincing win for Algeria’s T46 world champion Samir Nouioua in the men’s 1,500m T20/46. The 29-year-old crossed the line in 4:09.62, more than six seconds clear of the rest of the field.

Algeria’s Karim Betina went one better than his second place finish in Monday’s shot put F32 to win the men’s discus F32. The 36-year-old threw 16.15m, a notable improved on his 2014 best and more than three metres clear of Kuwait’s Mohammad Nasser, who secured second place with his throw of 12.41m.

The IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Tunis concludes on Wednesday 25 March, with the fourth in the series of nine 2015 IPC Athletics Grand Prix set to take place in Beijing, China, next month.