Al Ain dominate opening round of cross country

Dubai: Athletes from Al Ain Club dominated the season-opening UAE Cross Country Run held at the Al Safa Park here on Friday.

The experienced Saif Hamad led a clean sweep for Al Ain in the Group A for seniors eight kilometre race followed by teammates Khalifa Hareb and Obaid Mohammad in the next two places to take the top place in the team standings with eleven points.

Al Ahli came in second place with 37 points, while Al Wasl took the third place with 37 points as well.

In the Group B seniors eight-kilometre race, Khalifa Mohammad ran a well-timed race to finish at the top and help Fujairah Club take the top spot in the teams section with 23 points. Mohammad Ali Mohammad of Hatta Club came in second and Fahad Rashid of Al Rams was placed third.

Runners from Al Ain Club also fared well in the youth six-kilometre race with Yousuf Obaid and teammate Mansour Khalfan Shekali taking first and third place respectively.

In the junior four-kilometre race, it was Al Ain lad Hamdan Mohammad Ali winning ahead of Shaali Hassan of Dibba Al Hisn and Ali Jaffar of Al Wasl Club, while the cubs two-kilometre race was dominated by Al Wasl runners with Wael Mohammad Juma, Jasem Mohammad Baqer and Abdullah Khalil Abdullah going on to complete a clean sweep for the Dubai club.

The opening round of the UAE Cross Country Run, that was meant to kick start the season, attracted nearly 350 athletes in four age categories from 16 clubs from all over the UAE.

“The idea behind such cross country running races is to increase the endurance of the athletes,” noted Ahmad Al Kamali, President, UAE Athletics Federation and IAAF Member.

“It has been a great start to the season and hopefully these runners will keep the momentum going as the season progresses,” he added.

The next event in athletics will be the trials for the West Asian Athletics Championships on November 16.