Amine Laalou and Dayron Robles emerge at the 12th Memorial Primo Nebiolo – Athletics news
As the Italian city, Turin, observes the 12th edition of the Memorial Primo Nebiolo, Morocco’s Amine Laalou along with track and field athlete, Dayron Robles, who specialises in the 110m hurdles, emerged as the outperformers of the event. The
meet is a yearly event which has been named after Primo Nebiolo, the late President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Laalou, the 29-year-old athlete who is primarily known for his middle distance running specialisation, is usually not regarded as an outperformer. Marking his international career debut, he emerged first at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics to participate
in the 800m meet. Though he could not bag an international title yet, the Moroccan boasts of several medals claimed at smaller international contests, which include the 2004 Pan Arab Games and the 2005 Mediterranean Games.
Appearing in the Nebiolo competition, Laalou left spectators stunned after his remarkable performance which culminated in observing a new meet record for the distance of 1500m with a time of three minutes and 31.92 seconds. On the other hand, Robles, the
meet record holder of the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Final, marked 13.23 seconds for outdoing his rivals in the 110m hurdles. For the 24-year-old athlete, this was his third victory at the Turin track.
Laalou, who has been trying to mark his dominance on the field for long, had came to Turin with the resolve to clock a stellar performance, which, indeed he succeeded to mark as he finished his race in three minutes and thirty seconds. Besides him, other
athletes who could earn the attention of spectators were Kenyan runners, Joseph Boit and Job Kinyor. Though none of them could bag the title, they set the pace for Laalou, helping him significantly to cross the finishing line in a record time.
The earlier meet record was held by former middle distance runner from Morocco, Hicham El Guerrouj for a clocked time of three minutes and 33.51 seconds back in 1996. Laalou, who ran a formidable three minutes and 29.53 seconds in a competition in Monaco
last year, after his present success, has prevailed sixth on the world seasonal list for 2011. Talking about his remarkable performance, Laalou said, “I am proud that I broke El Guerrouj’s meet record. I want to return next year to run faster.”
In 110m hurdles, the win for Robles was rather difficult as he defeated the gushing wind and crossed the finishing line in 13.23 seconds. The first two wins were grabbed in 2008 and 2010. Commenting upon his success, the Cuban said, “I felt nervous before
the race. I had a very bad start but I ran better in the second half of the race. I am disappointed with the time. I did not put in practice what I am doing in training. However I enjoy running in Turin, a lucky city for me.”
He was of the view that he had always observed a pleasant atmosphere at Turin and this time too, though the track was wet, it did not hinder athletes from displaying a faster performance.
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