World champion Kenny van Weeghel wins in Dubai

The Netherlands’ reigning world and European champion Kenny van Weeghel showed he is still the man to beat in 2016 as he claimed victory in the men’s 200m T54 on Sunday (20th March), the final day of competition at the 8th Fazza IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Dutchman clocked 25.13 seconds - the fastest of three finals – as Russia’s Alexey Bychenok (25.40) took second and Swiss racer Marcel Hug (25.51) finished third.

Hug’s countryman Beat Bosch (33.82) notched up another win at the Dubai Police Officer’s Club track as he finished first in the 200m T51/52. It was a similar story for Frenchman Pierre Fairbank (26.94) who was the fastest in the two 200m T53 finals, having won the 100m and 800m T53 earlier in the competition.

Kuwait’s world record holder Ahmad Almutairi (33.62) finished over 0.5 seconds clear of the field in the men’s 200m T33 and Dutchman Stefan Rusch (31.31) won the 200m T34.

In the women’s sprints Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner (31.69) rounded off her Grand Prix campaign with yet another win, this time in the 200m T53 – as did Australia’s 200m T34 champion Rosemary Little (33.91) and the Netherland’s 200m T54 winner Margriet van den Broek (30.48).

World silver medallist Abdellatif Baka (1:55.30) of Algeria crossed the line over two seconds clear of the field to win the men’s 800m T11/13, with Moroccans Abdelillah Mame (1:57.53) and Youssef Benibrahim (1:59.07) second and third respectively.

Algeria also came out in top in the men’s 800m T36/37 as world 1,500m T37 bronze medallist Madjid Djemal (2:05.12) finished ahead of Great Britain’s 800m T36 world champion Paul Blake (2:06.99).

There was a one-two finish for Turkey in the men’s 800m T12 as Nesim Oner Mehmet (1:58.22) took the tape ahead of Oguz Akbulut (1:59.97). The women’s 800m T11/12 was won by Daniela Velasco Maldonado (T12) in 2:20.32.

Kuwait’s Ali Taher (T20) (2:36.12) won the 800m T20/38 and Uzbekistan’s Murodulloev Marufjon (2:04.78) won the 800m T46/47.

In the relay events, Russia won the men’s 4x 400m T53/54 in 3:16.67 and Turkey clocked 54.43 in the men’s 4x100m T42-47.

Records continued to fall in the field on the final day of competition.

Cameroon’s Christian Gobe added 1.38m on to his own African record as he won the men’s shot put F55 with a throw of 10.78m, eight centimetres further than Greek thrower Ilias Nalmpantis in second place.

Russia’s Galina Lipatnikova (F36) smashed the European record as she won the women’s discus throw F11-12/36-38 with a third round effort of 23.57m (862 points). Her compatriot Elena Gorlova (F51) also set a new European mark, winning the discus F51/52/53/54 with 10.92m (1,153 points).

Great Britain’s Holly Neill (F41) added 10 centimetres on to the European record in the women’s discus F40/41 as she finished second with a throw of 23.76m behind Iran’s F40 thrower Zhila Yousefi (16.07m, 792 points).

Algeria’s Paralympic and world champion Nassima Saifi continues to reign supreme in the women’s discus F57 – the 27-year-old threw 31.21m to take the win as Ireland’s world bronze medallist Orla Barry finished second with 29.94m.

Anthi Liagkou (F33) of Greece won the women’s discus F32/33 with her second round throw of 10.52m.

Great Britain’s world silver medallist Kyron Duke (F41) dominated the field in the men’s shot put F40/41 - recording two marks of 11.99m (913 points) to seal the win. Victory in the shot put F42 went to Frenchman Badr Touzi with a best of 12.86m.

Iran’s Abdolnabi Navaser (13.09m) won the shot put F44; his compatriot Alireza Ghaleh Nasseri (10.04m) finished first in the shot put F56, and India’s Virender (14.18m) took gold in the shot put F57.

Daniel Scheil got the better of Algeria’s Kamel Kardjena (20.55m) as the German world record holder threw 25.64m to win the javelin F33; Columbia’s world silver medallist Mauricio Valencia was the only man to pass the 30m mark as he won the javelin F34 with a best of 32.80m. There was a European record for Frenchman Thierry Cibone (25.35m) who finished fourth.

A final round throw of 13.84m gave Iran’s Hossein Khorsandamiri (T52 the win in the women’s javelin F52/53; German Martina Willing (F56) won the discus F55/56 with 20.55m (876 points), her compatriot Frances Herrmann won the discus F34 (19.10m) and Japan’s Yukiko Kato (F46) won the discus F42/44/46 with 32.58m (844 points).

Sweden’s world and European champion Per Jonsson (T12) leapt 6.80m (893 points) to take the win in the men’s long jump T11/12 while Bulgaria’s Radoslav Zlatanov won the T13 event with a final jump of 6.55m.

Just four centimetres separated first and second in the men’s long jump T20 as Saudi Arabia’s Assad Sharaheli sealed the win with a best of 6.54m ahead of Dutchman Ranki Oberoi.

The IPC Athletics Grand Prix series continues in Tunis, Tunisia on 24-26 March.