Ibadulla beats Saaid, Fasooha and Fazeel win 800m race

Ibadulla Adam has beat local sprint record holder Hassan Saaid in a competitive final 100 metre race of the National Athletics Championship, marking the first time Saaid has been defeated in the final of a local competition.

Saaid finished the race 0.08 second later than Ibadulla, in 10.67 seconds, while Ibadulla finished in an impressive 10.59 seconds. Third place was secured by Minhaal Shaamin, who finished in 10.74 seconds.

Prior to the official race which was held yesterday, Saaid finished first in the 100 metre preliminary round. Ibadulla finished in 6th place during that round. However, all athletes ran an average pace in the preliminary rounds, as recommended by experts, to not tire themselves ahead of the actual race.

Meanwhile, Ahna Nizar secured a gold in the women's 100 metre race, finishing at 12.33 seconds. Previous sprint winner Aishath Himna Hassan finished third this time, with Aishath Shaba Saleem securing second place at 12.40 seconds. Himna's timing was at 12.58 seconds in this race.

Over on the finals of 800 metre events, Fasooha Ahmed and Hussain Fazeel Haaroon secured their goals in their respective races, with Fasooha finishing at an impressive 2 minute and 15.96 seconds. Experienced runner Shamha Ahmed also competed in the finals and finished in third place, while second place was secured by Zeek Ashraf.

Yesterday's 5000 metre finals also featured Nepal's Shrestha and Shamha, with Shamha finishing second.

Fazeel won both 800 metre and 5000 metre races in the men's category. In the 5,000 metre race which was held yesterday morning, Fazeel ran neck to neck with Mohamed Rasheed (Mode) who finished in second place, and Mohamed Irufan, who finished third.

In the 800 metre final held this morning, Fazeel competed against Ahmed Wisam for a gold, with Abdulla Ikram finishing behind them.

The 1500 metre finals will be held tonight.