Fine performances mark the start of Ultimate Racenight League

Jay Asser 09:11 24/10/2015
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  • A new beginning: Ultimate Racenights League.

    The first meet of the Ultimate Racenight League drew spectacular performances from young track and field athletes in various disciplines to get the event off to an impressive start.

    In total, 246 athletes took part on Thursday at Dubai Sports City, coming from across the UAE and Gulf region.

    For the seniors, favourite Darrell Elliott delivered with victory in the men’s 100m, albeit with a relatively less-than-ideal time of 10.99 seconds.

    “His performance wasn’t so impressive, but he put it down to being the first one of the season and he’s looking to better his time in the next one. He’s definitely the one to beat so far this season,” said Lisa Campbell, founder of Ultimate Athletics Club and creator of Ultimate Racenight League.

    For the juniors, 14-year-old Chris Assimacopoulos of Repton School was a standout, claiming victory in the U15 100m in 11.06s and in the 200m at 22.84s.

    “Nobody could believe he was just 14,” Campbell said. “He is built like a powerhouse, very, very powerful, very explosive and has a lovely stride. Everyone was blown away by his performance. He’s definitely one to watch.”

    For his efforts, Assimacopoulos was one of four athletes to be named most outstanding performers of the day, voted on by the coaches.

    Others receiving vouchers from league sponsors Saucony were 12-year-old Faith Chen with a 02:31.5 finish in the U13 800m, 12-year-old Emily Sinclair with wins in the U13 80m, 150m and 300m, and 15-year-old Kate Palfreeman Watt with a 10:00.7 finish in the U17 3000m.

    Another exemplary performance came from 16-year-old Rashid Sajid, who recorded a 1.80 metre high jump in U17.

    “I was really pleased with the turnout of athletes. There was a great mixture of club athletes and some new athletes we hadn’t seen before from some of the local schools,” Campbell.

    “Some of the kids travelled from the Abu Dhabi schools and then you had Doha Athletic Club. It was great to see a mixture of new faces and old faces.

    “I was really impressed with how the UAE teams conducted themselves. They were very sportsmanlike and the coaches were very welcoming. We didn’t really know what to expect having never had a meet with the UAE teams and I was really happy with how they went.”

    Six more Racenight will be held over the coming months, with the next meet scheduled for November 19, and Campbell believes the best is still to come.

    “The athletes haven’t had a lot of preparation coming out of preseason training, so I definitely think there’s a lot more potential and as the league goes on, the times will start improving,” she said. “That’s the point of the league, to track where you are and to improve your personal records over the season.”

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