Amine Laalou competing in Berlin at the 1500m (© Getty Images)
Having brilliantly won the athletics title at the 6th Francophone Games held recently in Beirut with a harvest of 32 medals (10 gold, 13 silver and nine bronze), Morocco again succeeded as the chief medal winner at the 16th Arab Athletics Championships held in Damascus from 6-9 October by collecting a total of 28 medals (eight gold, 13 silver and seven bronze).
Attracting the most attention was the men’s 1500m won by double Francophone Games champion Amine Laalou of Morocco in 3:39.89 after a tough competition with Bahraini Bilal Mansour Ali (3:40.86) and Algerian Imad Taouil (3:40.89).
The men’s 400m was won by Sudanese Rabbah Mohamed Hassan who won his duel with the Libyan Mohamed Achour, the Mediterranean champion, 45.15 to 45.35.
In the Long jump, Yahya Berrabah, 10th at the World Championships in Berlin who reached a Moroccan and Francophone Games record of 8.40m a week ago, was content with the silver medal in jumping 8.09m, just one centimetre behind winner Aissam Nima of Algeria.
Bahrain was next in the medal table with 16 (seven gold, four silver and five bronze) while Egypt placed third a total of 12 medals (seven gold, three silver and two bronze).
Saudi Arabia ranked fourth in collecting 11 medals (five gold, two silver and six bronze) with Algeria (three gold, five silver and eight bronze) with the host country next (three gold, three silver and seven bronze).
The Syrian Mounira Assalah was among the brightest spots for the host team as she took titles in both the women’s 100 and 200m.
Compared with the previous edition, held two years ago in Amman, Moroccan fortunes dipped, having won 14 gold, eight silver and four bronze in 2007.
Mohamed Benchraf for the IAAF
Attracting the most attention was the men’s 1500m won by double Francophone Games champion Amine Laalou of Morocco in 3:39.89 after a tough competition with Bahraini Bilal Mansour Ali (3:40.86) and Algerian Imad Taouil (3:40.89).
The men’s 400m was won by Sudanese Rabbah Mohamed Hassan who won his duel with the Libyan Mohamed Achour, the Mediterranean champion, 45.15 to 45.35.
In the Long jump, Yahya Berrabah, 10th at the World Championships in Berlin who reached a Moroccan and Francophone Games record of 8.40m a week ago, was content with the silver medal in jumping 8.09m, just one centimetre behind winner Aissam Nima of Algeria.
Bahrain was next in the medal table with 16 (seven gold, four silver and five bronze) while Egypt placed third a total of 12 medals (seven gold, three silver and two bronze).
Saudi Arabia ranked fourth in collecting 11 medals (five gold, two silver and six bronze) with Algeria (three gold, five silver and eight bronze) with the host country next (three gold, three silver and seven bronze).
The Syrian Mounira Assalah was among the brightest spots for the host team as she took titles in both the women’s 100 and 200m.
Compared with the previous edition, held two years ago in Amman, Moroccan fortunes dipped, having won 14 gold, eight silver and four bronze in 2007.
Mohamed Benchraf for the IAAF
