#Sharjah2019: Track, field and shooting stars ready for action

10/02/2019

Shooting will get underway on 11 February whilst athletics begins on 13 February at the Al Tiqah Club for the Disabled.  

Amongst the 500 athletes from 50 countries set to compete at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports (IWAS) World Games in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, are a host of track and field athletes and shooters.

Shooting will get underway on 11 February whilst athletics begins on 13 February at the Al Tiqah Club for the Disabled.

Results will be available at the IWAS website.

Take a look at some of the key names who will compete.

Athletics

Mohamed Al Hammadi will try to utilise an advantage as he competes on his home track at the Altiqah Club. He is the 800m T34 Paralympic champion as well as a podium finisher from the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m.

Al Hammadi has competed at previous editions of the IWAS World Games, securing multiple medals.

Also headlining the hosts’ athletics team is Noura Alktebi and Sara Alsenaani. Both women left Rio 2016 with silver medals in the shot put F32 and F33 respectively.

Algeria are sending a trio of Paralympic champions in Samir Nouioua, Asmahane Boudjadar and Nassima Saifi.

Nouioua won gold at Rio 2016 in the men’s 1,500m T46 whilst Boudjadar and Saifi are the reigning champions in the women’s discus F57 and shot put F33.

Ireland’s Sinead Keon will compete in the javelin F41, attempting to add to her European record from last year’s IWAS World Youth Games.

In 2017, Keon competed in Vila Real de Santo António, Portugal, where she set a new European record. Fast forward one year later and the now 21-year-old added to her mark in 2018 at home in Athlone, Ireland.

Latvia’s Aigars Apinis is the man to watch in the discus F52 as the Paralympic champion and Worlds silver medallist.

Athletics will be run as mixed class events until 16 February.

Shooting

Taking place at the Al Dhaid Sports Club, shooting is another sport where the hosts are expected to shine.

Abdullah Sultan Alaryani is the start attraction as the reigning world champion in R7 (50m rifle prone SH1) and R6 (50m rifle three positions SH1). The former able-bodied shooter, who represented the UAE at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, is also a triple Paralympic silver medallist from Rio 2016.

Germany’s Norbert Gau, a Beijing 2008 gold medallist, will also line up to challenge Alaryani.

Shooting will take place from 11-13 February.

More than 500 athletes from 45 countries will compete at the IWAS World Games 2019 in archery, athletics, badminton, shooting, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair fencing.

Most competitions will be sanctioned by the relevant International Federation and in some cases results will go towards the all-important world rankings which feed into Tokyo 2020 qualification.