FACTBOX
Ali Al Balushi
Age: 19 years
Best timing in 200m
21.36 seconds
at Junior Olympics Buenos Aires 2018
Best timing in 100m
10.69 seconds
at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship Hong Kong 2019.
Oman national youth record in 100, 200 metres
Adil Al Balushi
MUSCAT, May 7
Talented Omani sprinter Ali Anwar al Balushi is expediting his training programme under supervision of national coach Fahd al Mashaikhi to take part in the 2020 World Athletics U20 Championships. The event was postponed due to the massive spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
The top youth athletics event is scheduled to take place in Nairobi city, Kenya from August 17 to 22 and it is following 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games by one week only.
The 19-year-old is aiming to register top results in this high-profile event. Only athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 years on December 31, 2021 will be eligible to compete in this world junior level competition.
Ali al Balushi and his coach Fahd al Mashaikhi headed off to Turkey on Friday to have an external camp. Like the other sports associations, the external camp will provide alternative solution due to the suspension of sporting activities in the Sultanate due to the rapid raise in the Covid positive cases.
The 35 days camp, which will conclude on June 9, will feature different training sessions. Moreover, Ali might take part in some friendly tournaments in Turkey to enter the match-mode after long break period due to the cancellation of many athletic events.
The overseas camp will make overall improvement for the sprinters by boosting the strength of the body through implementation of different tactical training methods. Also, the Sultanate's top sprinter Barkat al Harthi and Mazoon al Alawi are undergoing training in Antalya city in Turkey under direct supervision of the experienced national coach Mohammed al Hooti. Both the sprinters are in preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.
FUTURE PROSPECT
Ali, Oman's potential candidate for the 2024 Paris Olympics, has recorded different accomplishments in the past few years.
Ali had won the gold medal in the 200 metres for Oman at the West Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Beirut, Lebanon in August 2019. He had completed 200 metres within 21.97 seconds.
Al Balushi holds the national youth record in both 100 and 200 metres. He was able to set 100 metres record of 10.69 seconds at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship in Hong Kong in March 2019.
The best personal record for Ali was registered at the Junior Olympic Games held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2018. Ali clocked his best timing of 21.36 seconds in 200 metres. Ali was one of the top graduates from the Youth Training Centre run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. He is classified as the fastest junior sprinter in Oman.
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