Dubai: Othmane Safi of Morocco and Skydive Dubai’s Moroccan athlete Latifa Essarokh easily climbed to the top of the standings at the end of the 5km individual NAS Night Challenge held as part of the fifth Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Ramadan Sports Tournament, late on Thursday.
Safi triumphed in the men’s category after finishing the 5km course with a time of 32.51 minutes, while Essarokh took the women’s crown in a time of 50.03 minutes.
Finishing behind Safi was Colombia’s Marco Antonio Becerra Castro with a time of 34.37 minutes, while Khalid Al Khouri from the UAE completed the podium positions with a time of 35.07 minutes. Hallvard Borsheim of Norway, a veteran of obstacle racing, missed out on a podium spot after ending in fourth with a time of 36.43 minutes.
Borsheim, who works as an air traffic controller in Abu Dhabi, was pleased to have one more competition added to the domestic calendar. “I like to challenge myself and tonight the challenge lay in competing in the night taking into consideration the severe heat and humidity as well,” he said.
In the women’s competition, Jelena Dedajic from Montenegro was placed second behind the Skydive Dubai athlete, while Carolina Gutierrez, representing the UAE, was placed third in a time of 56.13 minutes followed by Jill Mair of Great Britain with a time of 56.30 minutes.
The NAS Night Challenge is part of the NAS Ramadan Sports Tournament being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC). The second NAS Night Challenge will be for teams to be held next Thursday.
The presentation of prizes will be held alongside the 10km and 5km road running races scheduled on Saturday.
RESULTS
(Men) 1. Othmane Safi (Morocco) 32.51 mins; 2. Marco Antonio Becerra Castro (Colombia) 34.37; 3. Khalid Al Khouri (UAE) 35.07; 4. Hallvard Borsheim (Norway) 36.43; 5. Elkin Blanco (Colombo) 37.18.
(Women) 1. Latifa Essarokh (Skydive Dubai) 50.03 minutes; 2. Jelena Dedajic (Montenegro) 55.38 mins; 3. Carolina Gutierrez (UAE) 56.13; 4. Jill Mair (Great Britain) 56.30; 5. Kajsa Lungren (Sweden) 57.29; 6. Akemi Hoshi (Denmark) 1:02.28.
