The best of running talent from across the globe was on offer as African athletes, especially from Morocco and Ethiopia, dominated at the road running races of the 11th Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament, held late on Saturday.

In the 10km men’s open race it was Ethiopia’s Dagne Tesfu Demsie taking top honours ahead of the Moroccan pair of Anouar El Ghouz and Noaman El Assaoui, while Morocco’s Wafa Zarouai won the women’s 10km race ahead of Ethiopia’s Fanos Tekle and Great Britain’s Kate Jordan.

Close tussle

The men’s 10km witnessed a close battle, but it was Dagne Tesfu Demsie who had a quick time of 27.50 minutes for his gold medal performance even as Anouar El Ghouz finished nine seconds later in a time of 27.59 and fellow Moroccan Noaman El Assaoui came in third in 28.05 minutes.

In the women’s 10km category, Wafa Zarouai was a clear winner in a time of 34.36 minutes, leaving Ethiopian challenger Fanos Tekle in second in a time of 36.49 minutes, while Kate Jordan was a distant third in a time of 37.28 minutes.

Emirati runners shine

The 10km runs for UAE men and women were equally competitive with Khalid Khalil Al Bedwawi and Ruqayya Mohammed Al Marzooqi clinching top honours.

Khalid Khalil Al Bedwawi was the clear winner with a time of 30.12 minutes, finishing ahead of Khalifa Al Nuaimi (30.33 minutes) and Obaid Al Nuaimi (30.46 minutes), while Ruqayya Mohammed Al Marzooqi also notched in a modest time of 41.06 minutes, leaving Alya Obaid Al Shamsi (43.01 minutes) and Fatima Al Shamsi (43.23 minutes) in second and third places, respectively.

5km race excitement

The 5km open races for men and women also witnessed some fierce challenges with Morocco’s Amine Souida (14.57 minutes) clinching top honours ahead of Uganda’s Julius Kyasanku (15.14 minutes) and Gwidi Grace (15.20 minutes) of Algeria in the men’s open top-3.

In the women’s 5km open race, a dominant run by Liesbeth Verheyden (17.47 minutes) saw her finish comfortably clear of Romanian Alisa Petrova (18.02 minutes) and Ida Mathilde Rubens Steensgaard (18.32 minutes).

It was an exciting finish to the 5km race for senior men with Morocco’s Mbarek Rihane finishing in a time of 16.35 minutes and just seven seconds clear of second-placed Jean Claude Haramboure (16.42) of France, while Great Britian’s Simon Marshall was a distant third with a time of 18.36 minutes.

Honours in the women’s seniors race were reserved for Frenchwoman Latifa Essarokh as she timed 20.16 minutes for her gold medal winning performance. Liliana Orejuela of Colombia took second place with a time of 25.50 minutes, while Great Britain’s Penelope Anne Mary Emes finished in third in a time of 26.09 minutes.

The junior age categories also witnessed some close finishes with Yarib Nusair Al Yaarbi and Hattie Garrett winning the boy’s and girls 4km races, respectively, while Abdullatif Ismail Al Sabri and Carla Benzmueller clinched top honours in the 4km boy’s and girls youth categories.

More than 3,000 runners from across the world participated in the road running races which had a total of AED 325,000 in prize money.

Padel brings forth excitement

Meanwhile, the Padel competition also concluded with some noteworthy performances from teams and players. The fight for superiority in the teams contest ended with The Netherlands emerging champions following a 2-0 win against Kuwait in Saturday’s final.

The UAE’s quest for at least a bronze medal ended as Iran walked away with a 2-0 result against the hosts in the fight for third place.

Former UAE players Alia Abdulla Taher and Fatma Al Janahi teamed up to win the women’s crown. In the semi-finals, Alia and Fatma first secured a 6-0, 6-1 win against Sara Bin Kazim and Shaikha Al Janahi, while Fatma Shahdoor and Maryam Shahdoor won 6-3, 6-3 against Mariya Ibrahim Bin Karam and Aisha Shahdoor.

Then in the final, it was nearly one-way going with Alia and Fatma walking away easy winners 6-2, 6-1 against Fatma and Maryam Shahdoor.

The boy’s under-18 final was also contested with Ahmed Al Hashmi Ismaeel and Martin Martinez walking away with the title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Rashid Walid and Haider Ali.

Next up on the agenda will be the Cycling races on March 22 and 23 followed by the Volleyball competition that will also get under way at the main hall of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex, from March 22.