2011 was an exceptional year for track and field in Lebanon. In the first half of the year, we saw our young athletes achieving great performances and breaking records. In the second half, we saw seniors and some young athletes excelling and collecting titles and medals in the major championships. The season is always short for the young athletes and we say that "when they breathe they improve". This is why, every year we expect these athletes to do something great, we expect to see new faces, new talents who will be following the steps of their ancestors and become champions one day.
The Achievement Of the YEAR!
I want to start by the Achievement of the year, which is the Silver Medal won by Gretta Taslakian at the Asian Championship on 200m! Her very long and fruitful career made her the best women athlete in track and field in Lebanon. She raised the Lebanese Flag very high so it can fly at the top of the world! Gretta added new titles and medals to her collection by winning 2 gold medals in 100 and 200 meters at Al-Ain for the Pan Arab Championship, and one month later she won a silver and a gold medal on the same distances in the 12th Pan Arab games that happen every four years, one year before the Olympic Games, of course Gretta will represent Lebanon in London next year with 1084 points on the scoring table, collected with the superb 200m run in Al-Ain which is the second best 200m run of her career with 23.68s! She started her season with a new record on 400m breaking the 54s barrier and clocking a 53.99 seconds, to end it with Gold! What a beautiful year for our Lebanese Champion Gretta Taslakian!
The Miss!
In 2009, we have seen her shining on the track, like a little star that grows so fast! In 2010, we saw the growing star becoming a shooting star winning her first Arab medal, (silver) in Egypt with 12.29s the 3rd fastest time ever done on 100m! This star is Aziza Sbeity! I know that the new born star take infinity time to extinguish. We missed this 3 years old star in 2011, but we will see her shinning again in 2012! Time is endless for our Champion! After her injury, she'll need a little spark to ignite!
The Young Talent!
I will enumerate names that you should know: Sarah-Joe Kortbawi, Sarah El-Khatib, Christelle Rahme, Joelle Feghali, Lea Iskandar, Daniel Bassous, Anthony Mickael, Ali Saleh, Nour Mouannes, Mohammad Hannouf and many others... These athletes are the future of TF in Lebanon, so please take care of them! Sarah-Joe can reach the international level very fast. Her 6 records in 2011, with 2:25.56 on 800m, 3:08.45 on 1000m, 7:09.21 on 2000m, and 5:01.30 on 1500m, are leading her to the way of glory! Sarah El-Khatib, who won Silver medal at the Asian Championship in swimming, is also running extremely well in long and middle distance runs! She won the nike 5km and finished 3rd in marathon 5km! But on the track she is always behind Sarah-Joe, these two talented girls should help each other to higher the level of the games, and push themselves to break records! They both have 13 years now. Christelle Rahme (15) broke the 150m Lebanese record with 19.75s! The record was held by Lina Bejjani 19.96s! Christelle also equaled her record of 10.57 on 80m! Lina was a great champion, and so is Christelle, she also has one full year to break midget records even if she's turning youth in 2012, but she was born in November! Gretta's records are in danger with Rahme. Joelle Feghali did an amazing job this year! She is not only a great middle distance runner, but she also showed us that she is a great long jumper! She jumped 4m97 this year! So close to my record of 5.07 (midget), but she still has 5 months to break it! But she will be fighting with Rahme for the record! Lea Iskandar, the surprise of the year!! She broke 2 records this year on 3000m and 5000m! And won a silver medal in the 1st West Asian championship for youth! Daniel Bassous ended his season with 52.22s on 400m and a new record in 400m Hurdles with 59.15s and a medley relay record with the national team at the 1st west Asian championship! Anthony Mikael also did an amazing job this year running several times the 150m with a time so close to the record and finally broke it before the end of the year to hold for now 3 records which 2 of them are relays. Ali Saleh, the talented long jumper jumped 6.56m this year and still has full year to get near Nabil Saleh's record of 6m90! Nour Mouaness, the youngest between all of them, broke this year Lina Bejjani's record on 120m! the 3rd record of Lina is gone! And she broke the 60m record held by myself by 0.03s! She clocked 8.47s and she is still bantam 1! She has a full year to break them both again and again!! Mohammad Hannouf is always present, always challenging the army on 800m, and he set this year a new best performance indoor in 800m with 2:02.34. He set a new outdoor PB of 1:58.87 he's getting close to Roy Bellan's record of 1:57.01! He will probably break it in 2012!
These athletes will open the way for new ones and will show us some great shows on the track and in the field next year!
The 1st West Asian Championship for Youth:
Our great young athletes, and especially girls, brought 7 gold medals for Lebanon, 3 silver and 8 bronze! They placed Lebanon in the 3rd position behind Qatar and Iraq:
. Gold Medals:
100m: Christelle Rahme
400m: Lory Tashjian
800m: Joelle Feghali
1500m: Sarah Awali
Long Jump: Krystel Saneh
Heptathlon: Krystel Saneh
Medley Relay: Krystel Saneh, Christelle Rahme, Sarah Awali and Lory Tashjian
. Silver Medals:
3000m: Lea Iskandar
High Jump: Lamia Doumit
Triple Jump: Joy Abousleiman
. Bronze Medals:
200m: Lory Tashjian
3000m: Said Karam
High Jump: Melanie Freyha
Long Jump: Joelle Feghali
Triple Jump: Rhea Akel
5km Walk: Sandy Karam
Shot Put: Sarah Bechara
Hammer Throw: Sarah Bechara
Records set in 2011:
A total of 38 records! While in 2010 Lebanese athletes broke 32 records! This without counting the ones beaten more that once.
OUTDOOR
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| Discipline
| Category
| Athlete
| Club
| Performance | Date
| 60m
| Bantam Girls
| Nour Mouaness
| Champville
| 8.47
| 11/05/11 | 120m
| Bantam Girls | Nour Mouaness | Champville | 16.29
| 12/05/11
| | 800m | Bantam Girls | Sarah-Joe Kortbawi | Champville | 2:25.56 | 15/07/11 | 1000m
| Bantam Girls | Sarah-Joe Kortbawi | Champville | 3:08.45
| 02/07/11
| | 1500m | Bantam Girls | Sarah-Joe Kortbawi | Champville | 5:01.30 | 14/07/11 |
| Midget Girls |
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| 2000m
| Bantam Girls
| Sarah-Joe Kortbawi | Champville | 7:09.21 | 12/05/11
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| Midget Girls
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| 80m
| Midget Girls | Christelle Rahme
| Champville | 10.57 | 02/08/11
| 150m
| Midget Girls | Christelle Rahme | Champville | 19.75
| 02/08/11
| | 150m | Midget Boys | Anthony Mikael
| CSJ
| 17.66
| 28/12/11
| 3000m
| Youth Girls | Lea Iskandar
| CSJ
| 11:14.54
| 24/09/11
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| Juniors Girls |
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| 5000m
| Youth Girls | Lea Iskandar | CSJ
| 19:06.54 | 02/07/11
| 100m Hurdles (76cm)
| Youth Girls | Krystel Saneh | Champville | 17.52
| 24/09/11
| 100m Hurdles (84cm)
| Youth Girls | Krystel Saneh | Champville | 17.97 | 15/12/11
| 2000m SC
| Youth Girls | Melanie Freyha
| CSJ
| 8:25.06
| 10/12/11
| | Long Jump | Youth Girls | Krystel Saneh | Champville | 5.43m | 28/07/11 |
| Juniors Girls |
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| Javelin Throw
| Youth Girls
| Krystel Saneh
| Champville
| 31.96m
| 16/12/11
| Hammer Throw
| Youth Girls
| Sarah Bechara
| Champville
| 17.89m | 23/09/11
| Heptathlon (76cm)
| Youth Girls | Krystel Saneh | Champville | 3565
| 24-25/09/11
| Heptathlon (84cm)
| Youth Girls | Krystel Saneh | Champville | 3708 | 15-16/12/11
| 5 Km Walk
| Youth Girls | Sandy Karam
| Champville | 37:33.32 | 23/09/11 | 400m Hurdles
| Youth Boys
| Daniel Bassous
| CSJ
| 59.15
| 30/12/11
| Medley Relay
| Youth Boys
| Rawy Sader
| National Team
| 2:05.56
| 25/09/11 |
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| Pierre Sarkis
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| Anthony Mickael
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| Daniel Bassous
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| 1000m
| Juniors Men
| Mohammad Hannouf
| Inter-Lebanon
| 2:35.5h | 16/04/11 | 400m
| Open Women
| Gretta Taslakian
| Inter-Lebanon | 53.99
| 11/06/11
| 2000m SC
| Open Women | Hoda Awadi
| Ansar | 7:36.76 | 02/08/11
| 3000m SC
| Open Women | Hoda Awadi | Ansar | 11:53.87 | 15/07/11
| | 110m Hurdles | Open Men | Ahmad Hazer | Ansar | 14.06 | 02/08/11 | Hammer Throw
| Open Men
| Abdallah Chahine | Inter-Lebanon | 56.82m | 23/04/11 | 3000m Walk
| Open Men | Ali Hassan ISMAIL
| Inter-Lebanon | 12:56.01 | 20/05/11 | 5000m Walk
| Open Men | Ali Hassan ISMAIL | Inter-Lebanon | 22:38.41 | 14/05/11 | 10km Walk
| Open Men | Ali Hassan ISMAIL | Inter-Lebanon | 48:44 | 26/06/11 | 20km Walk
| Open Men | Ali Hassan ISMAIL | Inter-Lebanon | 1:47:25 | 18/06/11 |
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| INDOOR
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| 800m
| Juniors Men
| Mohammad HANNOUF | Inter-Lebanon | 2:02.34 | 19/01/11 | 400m
| Open Women
| Mirvat Hamze
| Inter-Lebanon | 1:02.82 | 05/02/11 |
*view all the records of 2011
Congrats and Happy New year!
Krystel SANEH
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