Imranur still nation’s best sprinter

Imranur Rahman clocked 10.49 seconds in the Bangabandhu 46th National Athletics Championships to seal a first-place finish in the 100m sprint at the Army Stadium in Banani yesterday.

The 29-year-old finished 0.20 seconds behind his own mark in the Summer Athletics Championships, yet he was unchallenged by Rakibul Hasan (10.73) and Mohammad Ismail (10.71 seconds), who lagged far behind the England-based sprinter.

Imranur had broken a 22-year-old national record set by the late Mahbub Alam, who finished the 100m sprint in 10.54 seconds, when he clocked in 10.50 seconds in his first appearance in the National Athletics Championships in January. He improved on that timing by clocking 10.01 seconds to move into the semifinals of the Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey in August.

Meanwhile, Shirin Akter of Bangladesh Navy also retained her crown in the 100m sprint, clocking 12.20 seconds to finish ahead of Somaya Dewan of Bangladesh Army (12.29 seconds) and Kobita Ray of Bangladesh Ansar (12.39).

On the opening day of the three-day meet, two national records were made as Ritu Akter bettered her own record in the high jump, clearing 1.75 meters. Her previous best was the 1.70 meters she had scaled during the 2021 national championships.

The other record was made in the women's 4x100 relay by the Bangladesh Army team, comprising of Sharif Khatun, Somaya Dewan, Barsha Khatun and Sania Akter. They set a record time of 48.10 seconds, bettering the 48.29 seconds set by the Bangladesh Navy team.