Dubai Grand Prix ends with another world record

Mexico’s two-time Paralympic champion Angeles Ortiz Hernandez broke her own shot put world record on Friday (16 March), the fourth and final day of competition at the Dubai Grand Prix in the United Arab Emirates.

The 45-year-old, who competes in the F57 class, added three centimetres on to the mark she set at the Doha 2015 World Championships with her fourth-round effort of 11.16m.

In a stacked field, the Mexican finished in second place behind Algeria’s F56 thrower Nadia Medjmedj (9.68m), who broke the discus world record 24 hour earlier.

Another of Algeria’s star throwers, Nassima Saifi (9.74m) – who beat Hernandez to gold at London 2017 – finished in third place (Raza Points).

Iraq’s Paralympic and world champion Garrah Tnaiash (10.77m) came within 6cm of the shot put F40 world record – but he did add 1cm on to his own Asian record as he took the win in the shot put F40/41/42.

Luxembourg’s T42 thrower Tom Habscheid (13.79) won silver (Raza Points), while Bahrain’s Rooba Alomari (6.32m) won the women’s shot put F54/55.

Two years ago, Malaysia’s Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli made history when he won his country’s first ever Paralympic gold medal out in the field. The F20 world record holder went on to win gold at the London 2017 World Championships, and he was back in winning form this week, throwing 16.42m in the shot put F13/20/46.

Latvia’s world and European javelin champion Dmitrijs Silovs (48.88m) took gold in the javelin F35/37/38; Iran’s Abdolreza Jokar (19.74m) won the men’s javelin F53 and the women’s javelin F11/13/44/45/46 went to Norway’s Ida Nesse (32.59m).

The 25-year-old also took gold in the final event of the day, the women’s discus F44, with a best of 30.63m.

The women’s discus F32/33/34 was won by Emirati Aishah Bani Khaled (11.25m), who added 1cm on to her own F33 Asian record in the process. Germany’s Hanna Wichmann (9.44m) threw a new F32 European record to finish second (Raza Points).

In the day’s other discus events, Iran’s Ali Shamshiri (44.29m) won the men’s F11/12/13; Slovakia’s Marian Kureja (9.31m) led from start to finish in the men’s F51/53, and Egypt’s Ibrahim Ibrahim - who only managed to register two throws in the men’s F56/57 – managed 38.66m in the fourth-round throw to take the win.

After winning the 100m a day earlier, Germany’s Lindy Ave (4.60m) was back – this time claiming gold in the long jump T35/37/38/40/47.

The 19-year-old only made her senior debut two years ago but she already has two world medals to her name and could be a major threat come this summer’s Berlin 2018 European Championships on her home turf.

The women’s long jump T12/13/20 was won by Malaysia’s Paralympic bronze medallist Siti Noor Ismail thanks to her third-round leap of 5.04m. Egypt’s Hamada Hassan cleared 1.76m in the high jump T42/44.

It was the day for distance racing out on the track with three 5,000m races contested.

Up first was the men’s 5,000m T11/13/20 which was won by Japan’s Keiya Kobayashi (16:12.00), with his countryman and fellow T20 Para athlete Yuya Kimura (16:18.35) in second.

Canada’s Josh Cassidy (10:58.17) won the men’s T54 event just over one second clear of Kuwait’s Faisal Alrajehi (10:59.13) but reigning world champion Marcel Hug did not start. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Patricia Keller (13:05.09) won the women’s T54 race.

Full results from the four days of competition in the Middle East can be found here.

The 2018 World Para Athletics Grand Prix series now heads to Sao Paulo in Brazil (26-28 April) for the second of nine Grand Prix set to take place around the world this year.