06 Jun. 2016 – The Lebanese Athletics Federation selected four athletes to represent Lebanon at the U23 Mediterranean Athletics Championship. They selected four friends who know each others since they first started track and field.
Our short trip, headed by a “stress-free coach” Elie SAADE, was fruitful and very exciting!
Daniel BASSOUS competed on the first day in the first competition of the day! For his first international competition abroad, he clocked his second best performance running 56.34 seconds on 400 meters Hurdles.
“It felt great competing against the best athletes in the world. Racing at such a high and professional level is very motivating and made me want to work harder for the future. The experience in itself is exceptional,” said Daniel on his way back to Lebanon.
Sandy KARAM competed in the 10,000 meters Race Walking race where she improved her National Record by more than a minute. She clocked 57:05.65 but we should note that her first 5km was amazing, had she continued with the same pace she would have clocked an easy sub 56 minutes.
“Racing at a such high level competition helped me improve not only physically but also mentally. The 10,000m race is very tough, to be able to stay at the same pace for 25 laps is very tiring. I managed to break the record. I was hoping for a 56 minutes but I was happy with my result and learned a lot from this unique experience!”
Joy ABOUSLEIMAN went through a very rough week prior to her competition due to health issues, but she did her best in the Long Jump on the second day, competing against great athletes from around the world. She had three attempts and jumped 5.05 meters.
“I honestly felt very tired the day before as well as the day of the competition, but it sure felt great to participate in such a championship, even though I know I was far from my optimal shape. It feels weird to be competing against long jumpers who jump more than 6m50, I can’t tell that I wasn’t amazed by their jumps. I had to pass by a competition where I am one of the weak ones because this will definitely make me progress.”
For my part, I honestly was very cool before the competition. I had only one thing in mind: focus on my own race and don’t look at the others. I knew how strong they are so I concentrated on achieving my best. I was hoping for a new record but wasn’t far from it. The 15.48 was a great season best being only 0.04 away from the record.
We were sincerely very happy as a team to see our flag for the first time in a mediterranean championship lifted high. We only hope that this is only the beginning and that the new generation will fight for the gold so we can hear our national anthem proudly!
Krystel SANEH
The post National Team experience at the U23 Mediterranean Athletics Championship appeared first on Sports 961.
