COURTESY OF THE IAAF
Former World Youth winner dashes to third sprint crown of year – West Asian Games
Thursday 8 December 2005
Yahya Al-Gahes, the 2003 World Youth 100m champion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at 19-years-of-age is already making an impression on the world of senior sprinting. Yesterday evening (7) he sped to the West Asian Games title to add to his earlier victories in the Asian Championships and more recently in the Pan-Arab Championships.
The Saudi was the star of the evening session on the first day of the 3rd West Asian Games, which are being contested in Doha, Qatar, winning the 100m in 10.39 seconds (-0.6m/s wind), the same clocking which had secured his Asian crown in Korea last September.
Former World Youth winner dashes to third sprint crown of year – West Asian Games
Thursday 8 December 2005
Yahya Al-Gahes, the 2003 World Youth 100m champion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at 19-years-of-age is already making an impression on the world of senior sprinting. Yesterday evening (7) he sped to the West Asian Games title to add to his earlier victories in the Asian Championships and more recently in the Pan-Arab Championships.
The Saudi was the star of the evening session on the first day of the 3rd West Asian Games, which are being contested in Doha, Qatar, winning the 100m in 10.39 seconds (-0.6m/s wind), the same clocking which had secured his Asian crown in Korea last September.
Yahya Saed Al-Gahes of Saudi Arabia (102) wins the Arab 100m championship
(Slim Gomri)
Yesterday he was up against some familar regional rivals, most notably heading Abel Mohammed Al- Farhan of Bahrain and Saad Al-Shahwani of Qatar, respectively 4th and 2nd here, who had been the silver and bronze medallists behind him at the Pan Arab meet in Tunis on 16 September.
Al-Gahes, who has a personal best of 10.28 from his race in Tunis, had won the first of two qualifying heats earlier in the day in Doha in a time of 10.51 (+0.4m/s) with Al-Farhan in second (10.61). Al-Shahwani had taken the second preliminary race to qualify for the final with 10.54.
The final was dominated by Al-Gahes who was running in lane three, though the expected finish for the minor places was upset as Qatar’s Abdulla Al-Waleed took bronze (10.53), splitting his compatriot Al-Shahwani (also 10.53) from Al-Farhan, who was fourth (10.59).
Three other marks of international note came on Day One in Doha. They were supplied by Iranian Ehsan Hadadi, the reigning World Junior champion, and this year’s senior Asian gold medallist, who threw 63.63m in the men’s Discus Throw, while the level of the Qatari victories in the men’s 10,000m (Gamal Salem – 28:40.99) and 3000m Steeplechase (Musa Obaid Musa – 8:19.46) were also of a high standard.
Chris Turner for the IAAF