Jones retains title; Mansour, Innes-Smith also win at Aspire Torch Staircase Run
Doha, Qatar: Briton Andrew Jones retained the title in the men’s – masters category in the Aspire Torch Staircase Run on Friday.
Jones reached the 51st floor of the Torch in 7 min, 22sec. Mohammed Al Obaidli of Qatar came in second, and Croatian Ivo Kovacic was third.
Abdullah Aman Al Khater, Director of Venues and Events at Aspire Logistics, awarded the winners of the category.
The eighth edition of the competition saw more than 200 contestants of all ages and backgrounds take part in the lung-bursting race to the top and challenge their mind and body.
In the men's adult category, Tunisian Nasreddine Mansour came in first, finishing in 8 minutes 26 seconds, while Cornelia Jan Wouters from the Netherlands finished runner-up. French Matthieu Corpet came in third.
The winners were honoured by Sherif Sabri, Managing Director of the Torch-Doha Hotel.
In the women's adult category, British Stephanie Innes-Smith snatched first place in 12 minutes 41 seconds, Hanna Clark from Denmark was runner-up, while Tunisian Amira Azizi came third.
Cheryl Aquionaval from the Philippines came in first place with a time of 14 minutes 42 seconds in the women's – masters category, Swiss Manuela Pauley came in second, and MariaCecilia from the Philippines also came in third.
The winners were honored by Khairiya Al Absi, Manager of Partnership and Sponsorship at Aspire Logistics.
In the children’s category, Aisha Al Maadeed from Qatar defended her title. American Hanan Eriksson came second and Jenna Khatib from the United States was third.
Nidal Yahya from India took the first place in the same category for boys, Briton Liam Wilson managed to finish second and Hassan Shipchandler from the United States came in third.
Amal Al Sheemy, Manager of Media and Communication at Aspire Zone Foundation, honoured both boys and girls categories.
In the corporate category, the Civil Defense team won the race with a time of 10 minutes and 41 seconds, the Civil Aviation team came second, while RasGas came third. The winning teams in the corporate category were crowned by Abdullah Aman Al Khater, Director of Facilities and Events at Aspire Logistics, and Ahmed Mahmoud Al Abdullah, Civil Aviation Team Officer.
Abdullah Aman Al-Khater, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the race said: “I congratulate all the winners and we are happy with the success of the eighth edition of the race, which witnessed a great demand for registration. Members of the same family participated in different race categories, and non-participants enjoyed the activities of the fun zone.”
"This edition is one of the most outstanding ones of the race with the participation of two categories for the first time this year; 11 students from our academy participated, as well as the participation of cancer survivors on the occasion of the month of October, which is dedicated internationally to the awareness of cancer," Al Khater added.
Special participation for Aspire Academy students for the first time
The participation of Aspire Academy students this year added a special flavour to the race, where 11 students took part in the race until the 51st floor. Abdulsalam Arif Alawi won the first place. Muwafaq Faqeer Algadi and Abdalla Nabil Adam came second and third.
Nasser Abdullah Al Hajri, Director of Communication and Public Relations at Aspire Zone Foundation, crowned the winners of the Academy students.
Cancer survivors challenge themselves
As part of the CSR at Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF), this year’s race was held on the Breast Cancer Awareness month. AZF donated 30 per cent of the registration fees for the participants of the 8th edition of the Torch Staircase Run to Qatar Cancer Society to support its activities. Meanwhile, the public got a free check-up through a van placed near The Torch-Doha as well as a booth to answer the questions and give more information.
Mohamed Shaaban from Palestine, a 56-year-old colon cancer survivor, and Sami Al Asali, also participated in the Masters category of the race to present a role model to others. They achieved good positions, with Mohamed Shaaban ranked 23rd out of 31 participants in this category, while Sami Al Asali came in 26th.
Commenting on his participation in the race, Mohamed Shaaban said: “I participate today in support of cancer patients, where sport was part of my treatment for fighting this disease. Everyone must recognise the importance of sport for this disease for both patients and recuperates. Sport is highly important in the lives of people in general.”
