Sidibari
The men’s and women’s 100m finals at the National Athletics Championships ended with familiar names in the first places: Hassan Saaidh and Ahna Nizaar.
Saturday marked the final day of the championships, with a packed schedule of 18 events played out from morning till evening.
Running for Dhivehi Sifainge Club, Saaidh won the men’s race in 10.92 seconds. The national record holder (10.33s) and championship record holder (10.48s) finished well clear of Ahunaf Rayyaan Fahumee of Rauhath Sports (11.25s) and Athoof Mohamed Athif of the Track and Field Association (11.46s).
In the women’s final, Ahna Nizaar of Shareef Sports, the championship record holder, crossed the finish line in 12.45 seconds to win the gold medal. Customs Recreation Club’s Ziva Moosa Shafeeu (12.50s) and Aishath Shabaa Saleem (12.59s) followed close behind. Ahna’s time was outside her own meet record of 12.33s, while Mariyam Ru Ya Ali’s national best of 11.87s remains the benchmark.
Other running event highlights
Middle and long-distance races delivered close finishes as well.
The men’s 1500m was decided between two Dhivehi Sifainge Club runners, with Hussain Fazeel Haroon (Flash) taking first in 4:11.78. He finished just ahead of teammate Hussain Riza, who came in at 4:12.22, while Track and Field’s Aidh Abdulla Rifau followed in 4:21.67 for third. Although the winning times were well short of Fazeel’s national record of 3:57.44, the close finish between the leading pair gave the race its shape.
In the men’s 800m, Hussain Riza of Dhivehi Sifainge Club crossed first in 1:57.68, breaking the championship record of 1:58.16 previously held by Hussain Fazeel Haroon. Track and Field Association’s Ahmed Iyaan Iqbal Mohamed was next in 1:58.56, with Flash clocking 1:59.15 for third place.
The men’s 400m came down to the wire. Hussain Zeek Suad (Track and Field Association) finished in 49.27s, just four-hundredths-of-a-second ahead of Customs’ Adam Riffath (49.31s). The two were close, but still shy of Hassan Saaidh’s long-standing national record of 47.48s.
In the men’s 5000m, Mohamed Irufan of Marathon Runners Maldives won in 16:37.02, followed by teammate Mohamed Yusuf (17:01.58). Their one-two finish highlighted the club’s grip on the distance, though the times fell well outside the national record of 15:30.49.
The women’s 400m went to Customs Recreation Club’s Hawwa Muzuna Faiz in 59.58s, over 2 seconds clear off of Track and Field’s Zeek Ashraf Rasheed (1:02.16). While comfortably the fastest on the day, Muzuna’s effort was still some way off the national record of 56.24s previously set by Aishath Himna Hassan.
In the women’s 800m, Track and Field’s Zeek Ashraf Rasheed took gold in 2:31.41, narrowly holding off Dhivehi Sifainge Club’s Fasuha Ahmed (2:32.69), the national record holder in the 800. Both were far adrift of Fasuha’s own national best of 2:13.81, but their head-to-head kept the race competitive.
Finally, the women’s 5000m produced the biggest winning margin of the day. Sumitra Kumari Chaudary of Island Runners Maldives finished in 18:14.72, well clear of Aishath Jinanee Ibrahim (20:22.07). As a foreign athlete, her time does not count towards Maldivian national records, though it stood out as one of the strongest endurance performances of the championship.
