Isis Holt (left) of Australia sprints to victory ahead of Maria Lyle (right) of Great Britain in the women’s 200m T35 at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha yesterday
By Sports Reporter/Doha
The incredible drama of the Doha 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships continued on day three as 14-year-old Australian Isis Holt broke the Women’s 200m T35 world record at the Qatar Sports Club in Doha yesterday.
The sprinters dominated the evening’s action as crowd favourites Marlou van Rhijn of The Netherlands, Jason Smyth of Ireland and Walid Ktila of Tunisia retained their World Championship titles.
It was a battle of the teenagers in the Women’s 200m T35 as 14-year-old Isis Holt clocked 28.57s to beat 15-year-old Maria Lyle of Great Britain into second place. Lyle had broken the 200m T35 world record earlier this year setting up a thrilling final between the pair who had never met in competition, with Holt only having taken up the sport a year ago and had never left her home country.
Speaking after her world record run, Holt said: “I was quite nervous before the race, this is my first time overseas ever, so to come here and win and break the world record is so amazing for me on all levels.”
In the Women’s 200m T44, ‘Blade Babe’ Marlou van Rhijn beat rival Marie-Amelie le Fur to continue her dominance in the sprint events. The Paralympic, World and European Champion and world-record holder was pushed all the way by le Fur but produced a scintillating finish to retain her status as the fasted female leg amputee sprinter.
Speaking after her victory, van Rhijn said: “It was a very good race, I found the track very quick and I am very happy to be here and to maintain my title. The facilities are fantastic which helps a lot.”
Walid Ktila of Tunisia claimed the first of four possible titles at this year’s World Championships when he won the 400m T34 final. Ktila has dominated the T34 sprint events for the last few years having won two Paralympic titles at London 2012 and four World Championship titles at Lyon 2013. He will be looking to match this World Championship feat in Doha when he competes in the 100m, 200m and 800m T34 events.
Speaking after winning gold, Ktila said: “My victory was expected as I have worked extremely hard leading up to this championship. I wanted to break the world record but I am satisfied with this result.”
In the Men’s 100m T13, Jason Smyth, the fastest para-athlete of all time, who is dubbed the Usain Bolt of the Paralympic Games, produced a dominating victory to win in 10.62 seconds. Meanwhile Omara Durand of Cuba broke her second world record of the World Championships in the Women’s 200m T12 heat with a time of 23.38s, after having broken the 400m T12 world record yesterday.
There was an upset in the Men’s 1,500m T54 when Rawat Tana of Thailand beat pre-race favourites multiple World and Paralympic Champion, David Weir of Great Britain and world-record holder, Marcel Hug of Switzerland into second and fifth places respectively. Hug has never beaten Weir in a major Championship and both will have another opportunity to claim gold when they go in the 5000m T54. 38 year old Tana had not won a World Championship title since the 1,500m 13 years ago at Lille 2002. Fellow team-mate Saichon Konjen took bronze.
Speaking after his shock victory, Tana said: “I am so happy to win and become world champion! Saichon and I decided to work together and thankfully our tactic worked. It’s a big surprise to take the gold medal, but such a great feeling.”
The evening ended with a chance to look at the form of Richard Browne and Alan Oliveira in the 200m T44. Their rivalry is one of the highlights of the Doha 2015 World Championships and they both qualified for an exciting showdown in the final at 16:21 on 25th October.
The action will continue today from 9.30am in the morning session and from 4pm in the afternoon session. Tickets can be bought online at https://doha2015.q-tickets.com, in Villaggio, Landmark and City Centre malls, as well as in ticket booths at the ground.
Children below the age of four and pensioners aged 60+ go for free. All proceeds will be donated to charity. Qatar Airways and Ooredoo are also providing the opportunity for crowds to win prizes including flights, iPhones, iPads and Galaxy S6’s.
