Tunis Grand Prix: Clean sweep for Yassine Gharbi

Wheelchair racer heads more home success on final day 25 Jun 2018
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a male wheelchair racer throws his arms up in celebration

Yassine Gharbi won double gold at the London 2017 World Para Athletics Championships

ⒸBob Martin
By IPC

Double world champion Yassine Gharbi made it four wins out of four as the final day of competition at the Tunis Grand Prix in Tunisia came to a close on Sunday (25 June).

The 28-year-old Tunisian added victory in the 400m T34/53/54 to an already formidable tally which included wins over 200m, 800m and 1,500m at his home Grand Prix.

Gharbi, who set a new 400m T54 world record in Dubai in March this year, crossed the line in 47.62 – well outside his best of 43.46, but a convincing win nonetheless.

Tunisia’s T38 sprinter Sonia Mansour (14.44) was first across the line in the women’s 100m T11/36/37/38 with Argentina’s Yanina Martinez (14.54), who competes in the T36 class, running strongly just behind to go top of the women’s 100m T36 world rankings.

South Africa’s double Paralympic and world champion Charl du Toit (52.45) remains the man to beat in the men’s 400m T37 after a straightforward win at the Rades Stadium. The 25-year-old had already won the 200m a day earlier and is the fastest in the world this year over both distances.

There was a one-two finish for Turkish Para athletes in the men’s 400m T12 as world bronze medallist Oguz Akbulut (50.03) finished just head of team mate Hakan Cira (50.45).

Algeria’s Paralympic and world bronze medallist Mohamed Fouad Hamoumou (50.75) took the win in the men’s 400m T13; Cape Verde’s Barbosa Gracelino Tavares (52.07) won the men’s 400m T20; Moroccan Ayoub Sadni (50.31) won the men’s 400m T47 and Uzbekistan’s Marufjon Murodulloev (52.02) was first across the line in the men’s 400m T38/44/46.

Tunisia’s Bilel Hammami (15:03.77) won the day’s distance race, the men’s 5,000m T11/12/13/20/46.

Out in the field, Rio 2016 gold medallist Maroua Ibrahmi (26.26m) added another win for the host nation as she finished comfortably clear of her rivals in the women’s club throw F31/32 and teammate Hania Aidi (18.62m) sailed to the top of the rankings after winning the women’s javelin F53; Ahmed Ben Moslal (12.57m) won the men’s shot put F37/38.

Iran’s Para athletes notched up a number of wins on day three in Tunisia.

In the men’s discus F11, a fourth-round throw of 41.28m sealed the win for Mahdi Olad while his teammate Saman Pakbaz (47.14m), a gold medallist at London 2017, finished more than 10 metres clear of the field in the discus F12/13. Ali Omidi (52.11m), who competes in the F44 class, won the javelin F42/44/46.

Mehdi Alizadeh (9.89m) won the shot put F33 and only three centimetres separated teammates Siamak Saleh Farajzadeh (11.52m) and Mohsen Kaedi (11.49m) in the top two places of the men’s shot put F34.

Argentina’s Hernan Urra (15.20m) won the men’s shot put F35/36 and Oman’s Mohammed Al Mashaykhi (10.37m) took gold in the F32 event thanks to his final throw of the day.

Syria’s Wasim Alrezk (34.19m), who finished second in the men’s shot put F55 on day one, reached the top of the podium in the discus F55/56 after throwing 34.19m.

Ivory Coast’s Benian Richard Duffi (31.10m) won the men’s javelin F40 and Iraq’s world silver medallist Wildan Nukhailawi (39.20m) won the F41 event.

The women’s javelin F55/57 was won by Morocco’s Nezha El Baraka (18.70m) and the men’s discus F57 was won by Mahmoud Rajab (46.57m) of Libya.

The 2018 World Para Athletics Grand Prix Series now heads to Berlin, Germany, for the final Grand Prix of the season. The event takes place from 30 June – 1 July at the city’s Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark, the same venue that will host August’s European Championships.