22 Apr 2024
Aspire Academy student-athletes claimed seven medals for Qatar in the track and field events at the 1st GCC Youth Games in the United Arab Emirates.
The medal haul included four gold medals, two silver and a bronze at the event that includes 28 different sports, which began on 16 April and runs until 2 May.
Rakan Al Rashidi and Hamza Hashem claimed two medals each for Qatar in the horizontal jumps.
The duo claimed first and second place in the long jump, with Hamza Hashem taking gold and Rakan Al Rashidi taking silver.
Rakan Al Rashidi took gold in the triple jump, and Hamza Hashem won bronze.
There was gold in the discus for Hamad Al Sultan while two of Aspire Academy’s pole vaulters continued their impressive starts to the season with Abdullah Al Abulla winning gold ahead of Younes Al Balushi in silver.
Both student-athletes cleared 4.20m, with Abdullah Al Abdulla taking first place on the count-back system.
The multi-sport Youth GCC Games is open for competitors born in athletes born in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
The medals are a further testament to the ongoing collaboration between Aspire Academy, the Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) and the Qatar Olympic Committee in the development of athletes.
The success in the pole vault continues the outstanding progress in the event so far in 2024 for the Academy’s student-athletes.
In the build-up to the games, Younes Al-Balushi set a new Qatar under-17 record as he cleared 4.50 metres at a QAF event on 26 March representing his Al Khor club.
It surpasses the 4.40m record jointly held by Mohamed Shaheen Al Muhaize and Mohammed Ahmed Al Manaai, who set their heights in 2005 and 2008, respectively - both before Younes Al-Balushi was born.
The youngster, who turns 16 in September, has also been named by the QAF to represent Qatar at the 21st Asian U20 Athletics Championships, which begin in Dubai on 21 April.
Abdulla Al Abdulla (Al Wakra), who is also 15, set a personal best of 4.30 in February and is now hoping to be named by the QAF to compete at next month’s Arab U20 Athletics Championships in Egypt.
Two other Qatari athletes at Aspire have also joined the “4 Metre Club” this year, with Nasser Al Atbi (Al Saad), who turned 15 in March, and 17-year-old Abdulaziz Saad (Al Khor) clearing exactly 4.00m in February.
Nasser Al Atbi is closing in on the Qatari Cadet (for 14 to 15-year-olds) record of 4.10m, which Mohamed Saeed Saeed set in Belgium in 2005.
The impressive clearances are a testament to the dedicated pole vault programme at Aspire Academy, which has been in place for the last 2.5 years and is led by coaches Jaco Van Vuuren and Adel Mouehli.
“We are excited to see the athletes' improvement year on year, and they are going from strength to strength,” former QAF coach Jaco Van Vuuren said.
“Our aim is to get these Qatari athletes competing with commitment and passion and I am convinced this will see them all going higher and higher.”
Then, in June, the student-athletes will travel to Hungary and Sweden for training camps and more competitions, aiming to break more records.