Sunday 05 / January / 2025
Tokyo: Oman’s woman sprinter Mazoon Al Alawi is confident to deliver a solid display in her second successive Olympics appearance.
Mazoon will represent the Sultanate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the women's 100m race on Friday. The 23-year-old sprinter has been assigned heats three beside Scicluna Carla (MLT), BA Houleye (MTN), Conte Aissata Deen (GUI), Barakat Hanna (PLE), Simwaka Asimenye (MAW), Stanley Matie (TUV), Tehupeiory Alvin (INA), Mazoon Al Alawi (OMA) and Lloyd Joella (ANT).
The race will start at 4:14am Oman time (9:14 am Japan time). The Sultanate’s other Olympian sprinter, Barkat Al Harthy, will be in action for the men's 100m race on Saturday.
Mazoon Al Alawi was the fifth athlete who opted for the Sultanate squad after meeting all the requirements to attend the top sporting event. Besides, the Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) officials did their best to send a woman athlete in this edition of the Summer Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020.
Despite the COVID-19 impact on her training programme, Mazoon is geared up for her contest in heats three.
She was with sprinter Barakat in Turkey camp which started in mid-March and continued until June.
Turkey camp was followed by a participation in the Arabian Athletics Championship in last June and early July.
She had registered her best domestic record of 11.84s in the 100m race at an Open athletics meet in Turkey last April during the overseas camp.
Al Alawi, who hails from Sur, will be looking for a different show and advancing to the qualifying rounds. She had managed to move into the next round in the Rio Olympics.
She will try to improve on her performance from the last Olympics to reach advanced rounds.
The promising sprinter Mazoon had represented the Sultanate in many athletics meets. She has taken part in many editions of the GCC Women's Games, 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, 2016 Asian Indoor Championships in Nanjing, 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku and IAAF World Indoor Championships 2018.
Speaking ahead of her race, sprinter Mazoon said that she is proud to be among the Sultanate’s athletes in this showpiece event for the second consecutive time.
“I am looking to break my personal best record in this Olympics and I hope my performance will be better than my previous attendance in Rio Olympics 2016. Despite all difficulties in our preparatory camps, I plan for a good show that will reflect the development of Oman’s athletics,” she concluded.
Target on records
The national head coach of athletics team, Mohammed Al Hooti, affirmed that both sprinters Barakat and Mazoon would try to register new records for the Sultanate in this prestigious sporting event.
“We know how tough the competition is and despite lack of proper preparation time for the athletes, I am confident that both of the Sultanate’s representatives in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will give the desired results,” he added.
Commenting on the long overseas training in Turkey, Al Hooti said: “Antalia camp in Turkey was a good preparatory destination for the national runners. Besides that, both the sprinters had participated in Tunisia at Arabian Athletics Championship and it was essential for them to enter into the actual mood of competitions after a long break due to the COVID situation. I hope the last few months of preparations will assist our runners and shape them for this global event,” he ended.
Lifter Amur
Oman’s star weightlifter, Amur Al Khanjari, is all set for his debut in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The 21 years old will begin his challenge in the 81kg Group B event on Saturday at the Tokyo International Forum.
