Athletics: Special Events one competition-Hand timing 1,000m best for Ronny Marie |24 January 2005

Although no record was broken, the two-day meet produced a new hand timing best in the men’s 1,000 metres which will go down in the books as a new record.

The Seychelles Amateur Athletics Federation (SAAF) is confident that records could be threatened during the next competition on the weekend of February 4 and 5 after a few athletes clocked encouraging times on Saturday at Stad linite.

A big field of 13 runners, 10 of which came from the SPDF Patriot club, lined up for the start of the men’s 1,000m race. With no one to challenge him, Ronny Marie, who had a quiet season in 2004 but seems ready to get back to his usual best, decided to set the pace and stayed in front. He crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 28.2 seconds (2:28.2) for a new hand timing record.

The electronic record of 2:26.75 Marie is likely to launch an attack on, provided the electronic timing machine is back working again, is being held by Selwyn Bonne since April 5, 1999.

Running alongside the male participants in the 1,000m race, Janet Croisée, Ronny Marie’s younger sister, failed to use her male opponents as pace-setters to try and beat the 600m best time of 1:43.9 belonging to Natacha Bibi. Croisée’s time was 1:45.3, almost two seconds slower than the standing best performance.

Running in the first of the two heats, one-lap specialist Evans Marie sprinted home, almost 60 metres ahead of the field, in the 300-metre race. His time of 34.4 seconds is three hundredths of a second slower than Stephen Banane’s record of 34.1 seconds clocked on February 22, 1997.

Had Marie ran in the same heat as Nelson Renaud, who retired from his race with a pulled muscle, and Travis Hardy, it is very likely that Banane’s record would have been history. It is thus expected that Marie lowers Banane’s record the next time he runs the distance but all will depend on the organisers as they choose who run in which heat.

As top sprinter and male athlete of the year Mervin Loizeau watched Saturday’s competition from the stands because of a leg injury, Seychelles junior team hockey player Danny D’Souza won the 60 metres in 7.1 seconds.

The female winner over the same distance was youth category (under 18) sprinter Sabrina Laurence with a time of 8.1 seconds.
High jumper Jude Sidonie showed that he can challenge long jumpers, winning the event with a best leap of 6.97 metres.

Annisa Uzice won the discus throw with a distance of 33.42 metres and Kristopher Esparon registered 35.68 metres in the hammer throw.

G. G.