17 Jul 2012
ASPIRE ACADEMY Hammer thrower student athlete Ashraf El-Seify set new world junior record in Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain, Saturday 14 July 2012: ASPIRE Academy student athlete Ashraf Amgad El-Seify has set a new world junior record in hammer throw in 14th IAAF World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain from 10 to 15 July 2012. ASPIRE student athlete’s new world record is 85.57 m.
Ashraf Amgad Elseify who came to Barcelona as the seventh ranked hammer thrower of All-Time left the 1992 Olympic Games Stadium as World record holder after a truly dominant performance in front of over 9000 spectators on another night of fabulous action.
Elseify adding another gold medal to Qatar's tally after Hamza Driouch's 1500m success, continued his domination of the event this summer when leading from the first round with a high calibre throw of 77.23m.
That would have been far enough to defeat Bence Pasztor of Hungary and Uzbekistan's Suhrob Khodjaev the silver and bronze medallists who achieved distances of 76.74m and 76.16m - the latter's a personal best.
Elseify after his opener continued his electrifying display producing efforts of 78.61m, 81.84m, 81.60m before destroying Spain's Javier Cienfuegos' World record of 82.97m set two years ago in Madrid by registering 85.57 m.
Excited with this achievement, Ashraf said: "I came here with the intention of throwing 83 metres and beating the record, I knew I could do that because I had been training well, but when I let go of my big throw in the fifth round I watched it in the sky and thought, 'it's going so, so far'. I was amazed even though I had been building up to a big throw with two throws over 81 metres in the two rounds before," said Elseify in fairly fluent English.
"Thinking now, I think I was physically ready to throw 85 metres even if I didn't quite believe before the competition that I would do it," he added, shortly after he was confirmed as the new champion.
"It is a great feeling to break the World record," he said. "I always believed I could do that. It was hard but I am very happy that I got it. I will be going to the World Championships in Moscow next year."
ASPIRE Academy management, employees and student athletes all joined to congratulate it’s champion student who raised up Qatar’s name in this world championship. Ashraf is another ASPIRE example towards achieving the academy’s commitment to excellence in forming high caliber athletes. Earlier academy’s achievements in athletics by the academy’s athletics athletes were Mohammed Al- Manai, Silver medalist in decathlon in Italy 2009 and Mutaz Birsham World champion in high jump in Canada 2010.