Bahrain’s Ahmed Joda eases to victory

Manama: Ahmed Joda raced to victory in the second running race at the 2016 Olympic Day organised by the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) in cooperation with the Capital Governorate.

The race was open for those aged from 15 years and above over a distance of 3km near the Fatima Kanoo Mosque in Tubli, where hundreds of athletes competed in five different age category races.

Joda put on a splendid performance to win his second race at the Olympic Day after finishing first in the previous race organised by the Northern Governorate on Saturday and was followed by Sami Mohammed and Yousef Sulaibeikh in third.

In attendance was BOC general secretary Abdulrahman Askar, Capital Governorate Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa and top officials from both authorities. Starting with the boys 6 to 8 years category race, which was closely contested and won by Spencer James Peckham, just ahead of second placed Kareem.

In the 9-11 years race over 1km, Hassan Isa was triumphant after a fierce battle with Talal Mohammed Najem who finished second.

The 12-14 years race over 1.2km was Elias Elyasi who won gold, followed by Mahdi Jahromi for silver and bronze to Reda Isa. In the women’s race for 15 years and above, Manar Ebrahim was in fine form as she crossed the finish line first.

The 6-8 years category race was dominated by Maryam Khalid who won with ease.

Other races saw Fatima Adel and Maryam Ehab win the 9-11 and 12-14 years races respectively, with Fatima overcame a stiff challenge to win the 9-11 race ahead of Ma’ab Jameel in second and Batool Salah in third, while Maryam followed suit winning the 12-14 years category ahead of Mayar Ehab in second and Dana Hani third.

The races were followed by an awarding ceremony, which Askar and Shaikh Hisham honoured the top three runners in each race. Askar congratulated the winners and other success in future races. He also thanked Al Khalaf International, agents of Fayrouz malt drink in Bahrain, for being the official sponsors of the 2016 Olympic Day.

This two-week event takes a two-day break with action resuming on Saturday with the third running race, organised in cooperation with the Southern Governorate.