Discus world record smashed at Dubai Grand Prix

Algeria’s Nadia Medjmedj smashed the discus F56 world record at the Dubai Grand Prix on Thursday (15 March), the third day of competition in the United Arab Emirates.

It is the second consecutive year that Medjmedj has rewritten the record books at the season-opening Grand Prix in the Middle East– last year she threw 26.17m to break a world record that had stood for 14 years.

This time the 43-year-old, who won two bronze medals at the Rio 2016 Games, added another 11cm with a massive 26.28m throw in the fourth round of competition.

Fellow Algerian Nassima Saifi – the F57 world record holder and reigning Paralympic and world champion – finished in second place with a best of 30.58m (Raza point system), with Germany’s Martina Willing (20.00m) in third.

Regional records fell too at the Dubai Club for the Disabled track - Nigerian Goodness Duru (9.63m) added an impressive 1.69m on to the African record in the women’s shot put F46 – a record which had stood since 2005.

India’s Para athletes have enjoyed a number of wins so far this week and Thursday was no different as Monu Ghangas (47.28m) won the men’s javelin F11/12/13/44 with a new F11 Asian record. The 24-year-old added 1.77m on to the previous mark which had stood for 15 years.

Fellow Indian thrower Deepa Malik claimed gold in the women’s javelin F53/54. Malik, who became her country’s first female Paralympic medallist when she won shot put F53 silver at Rio 2016, managed a best of 9.35m in Dubai.

Manolis Stefanoudakis remains the man to beat in the men’s javelin F54; the Paralympic and world champion sealed victory with his penultimate throw of 28.15m. Iranian Hamed Amiri (27.85m) finished in second place with a new Asian record.

There was a new Asian long jump T13 record for Kazakhstan’s Islam Salimov who leapt a best of 6.93m – 18cm further than his previous mark set two years ago in Beijing, China.

Paralympic and world champion Raoua Tlili (9.28m) completed her hat trick of wins in the Middle East with victory in the shot put F35-37/40/41. The 28-year-old, who competes in the F41 class, had already won the javelin and discus events on the first two days of competition.

Results went to form in the men’s shot put F33 as Germany’s Paralympic champion Daniel Scheil took the win – his second-round effort of 9.69m proved enough, with Saudi Arabian Hani Alnakhli (9.02m) in second place. Scheil’s teammate Hanna Wichmann (17.86m) won the women’s club throw F32.

Just 25cm separated the top three in the men’s javelin F55, but it was Egypt’s Yaser Abdelaziz Elsayed (28.58m) who went home with the gold medal, with India’s Neeraj Yadav (28.36m) – winner of the shot put and discus earlier in the week – in second place and his teammate Amit Balyan (28.33m) third.

Further success went Egypt’s way as Mohamed Ramadan (48.23m) won the discus F37/38.

Mohammed Al Mashaykhi (10.21m) was the standout winner in the men’s shot put F32/52/53. The 27-year-old won Oman’s only medal at last year’s World Championships when he threw an Asian record of 10.49m to claim silver in the shot put F32.

Luxembourg’s world silver medallist Tom Habscheid (43.97m) claimed a convincing win in the men’s discus F42 while Czech Martin Dvorak (21.79m) won the discus F34.

Out on the track, Paralympic and world champion Ahmad Almutairi (17.26) continued his unbeaten run in the men’s T33 sprints with a win in the 100m T33/51/52; it was a similar case for Tunisia’s 12-time world champion Walid Ktila (15.39) in the T34 event.

The men’s 100m T11 was won by Namibia’s London 2017 silver medallist Ananias Shikongo (11.67) while Japan’s Shunya Yamaji (11.74) took the tape in the T12 event.

Egypt’s Paralympic 100m T37 silver medallist Mostafa Mohamed (11.95) saw off Saudi Arabia’s teenage sprinter Ali Alnakhli (12.08) to claim the top spot in the men’s 100m T35/36/37 timed races – Great Britain’s Jordan Howe (T35) clocked an impressive 12.60.

Greek T62 Para athlete Stylianos Malakopoulos (13.08) added the 100m to his tally of wins this week – the 21-year-old won the 200m on day one.

India’s T44 Para athlete Manoj Baskar (11.98) also notched up his second win in Dubai, having won the long jump on Tuesday - this time it was the 100m. His T46 teammate Sandeep Singh (11.32) – winner of the 200m and 400m already - made it three wins out of three, recording the fastest time in the 100m T13/20/38/46/47 timed heats.

There was a win for the host nation as Mohammad Vahdani (14.64) took gold the 100m T54; Saudi Arabia’s world finalist Fahad Alganaidl (15.13) won the T53 race.

Germany’s T38 sprinter Lindy Ave (13.85) won the T37/38/46/47 ahead of Cameroon’s T46 sprinter Guileine Chemogne Teukam, with Great Britain’s T37 world and Paralympic champion Georgie Hermitage (14.08) in third.

Janne Engeleiter (13.13) added to German success with a win in the women’s 100m T13 while Kazakhstan’s Saltanat Abilkhassymkyzy (16.10) won the women’s 100m T35/36.

Great Britain notched up two wins on the track thanks to London 2017 gold medallist Sophie Kamlish (14.08) in the 100m T63/64 final and T20 Para athlete Hannah Taunton (4:50.77) in the 1,500m T11/12/13/20/46.

Reigning world champion Marcel Hug (3:12.40) was back to his winning ways as he finished fastest in the timed heats of the men’s T1,500m T34/54. The Swiss racer, who claimed three distance gold medals at London 2017, took the top spot ahead of Kuwaiti Faisal Alrajehi (3:12.68) with Tunisia’s Yassine Gharbi (3:13.00) in third.

There were 1,500m wins for Tunisia’s T38 Paralympic champion Abbes Saidi (4:18.04); Japan’s Kazumi Nakayama (3:48.42) in the women’s T54 race and Turkey’s Oguz Akbulut (4:14.47) in the men’s T11/12/13 - his compatriot, European silver medallist Hasan Kacar, finished second.

The Dubai Grand Prix concludes on Friday (16 March). Full results can be found here