01 Aug. 2015 – Club Notre Dame de Jamhour organized the second edition of the Grand Prix; this year it was dedicated for the passing champion Melanie FREIHA. Three meetings were organized during the month of July on the Jamhour track with seven Grand Prix events.
The spirit that Melanie had on the track was present yesterday on the Jamhour field; an amazing ambiance of friendship, mutual respect and joy! The seven winners of the Grand Prix events are all dominating their events this year. They all collected 9 points after winning the three meets!
Photos of the 3rd Meeting of Grand Prix Melanie FREIHA
Corine FREIHA (CSJ) won the 400 meters hurdles! This year she was very close to break the Juniors record for this event. She is dominating this event in the women’s category.
“It is all about determination; I focused throughout the daily summer practices with coach Alice KEYROUZ with a great amount of discipline. This determination let me overcome my ankle injury and win the race!” Said Corine about her ability of dominating this event.
Nour HADID (Army) ran his every 100 meters race this season under 11 seconds!
“The competition on 100 meters is being great so far, but I expect more people to compete. We need a high level of competitors to improve the level of our sport. It is disappointing to see an 18 years old athlete quit this sport to only focus on his studies which is negatively affecting our sport.” Said HADID.
Hassan KERKALLA (Army) won easily the 800 meters. They were only four athletes on the start line, his strong opponents didn’t show up. We should also note that the number of participants in this last meeting was very low; the meeting occurred right after the Lebanese Individual Championship and before the Open clubs championship so some athletes preferred to train or rest instead of competing.
Joy ABOUSLEIMAN (CSJ) won the three meetings in Long Jump; in the third meeting she jumped 5.19m but was jumping alone with one of her CSJ teammate. It is very hard for jumpers to compete alone, not only because there is no competition, but also because they only have 3 minutes between each jump.
“I started as a triple jumper and tought that it was the event that I loved the most. I then injured my ankle and wasn’t able to train for the triple jump anymore. It made me realize that everything happens for a reason. I started focusing on the long jump and it turned out that I love it even more! This season was not easy; many injuries made it difficult for me to progress and reach my goals, but Alice KEYROUZ is a great mental coach and taught me a lot! I know now that I have to be patient and overcome the hard moments.”
Ahmad MOHSEN (Army) only lost once in the 400 meters race, at the Lebanese Individual Championship, and won the others! He has been winning every race since last year but he is willing to win the Lebanese Open Club championship to prove to everyone that he is the best on 400 meters. Charles KARAM (Champville) had to withdraw after 300 meters due to feet injuries.
Sara Joe KORTBAWI (Champville) missed the 5000 meters Youth and Juniors record by tenth of a second! Last time she missed it by 0.7! This young girl proved that she is a very strong opponent on the longest sprint: the 400 meters, and on long distances like the 5000 meters.
Aziza SBEITY (CSJ) is totally dominating the 100 meters flat after being the second Lebanese woman to go under 12 seconds on this distance after Gretta TASLAKIAN (Inter-Lebanon).
“When the men’s race has 5 heats whearas the women’s has 5 girls in one heat, that’s when you know something is definitely wrong. I don’t know the exact reason why girls are dropping out of the Athletics world but what comes to ming is probably a lack of motivation and interest. Having such a decreased participation participation in women’s races does put me and many other dominant racers in a demotivating state but what keeps us going is our love for this sport. Self motivation and believing in your abilities and having a clear dream will get you far and I believe accomplishments drive ambition. The dream might be the destination but the little triumphs will get you there.” Said Aziza.
“I would like to add that the younger generation has a lot of talented young girls and guys! Us as older athletes should work on keeping their dream alive and paving a pathway for their success so that they can become faster, stronger and jump higher than us.” Added Aziza SBEITY.
The athletes said it all! We will see them all in the Lebanese Open Clubs Championship next week! All the best!
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