Wapda win national athletics title as Maria Bibi sets 5,000m record
Maria clocked 19:02.00 on the final day at NED University to erase Rabia Ashiq's 2012 mark of 19:04.05, as Wapda took 27 golds.
Wapda won the overall title at the 54th National Athletics Championship in Karachi on Sunday, taking 27 gold medals across the men's and women's competitions, with Maria Bibi breaking the national women's 5,000m record on the final day.
According to the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, Maria won the race in 19 minutes 02.00 seconds, beating the 19:04.05 set by Olympian Rabia Ashiq in 2012. Her Wapda teammate Nazia Ehsan took silver in 19:49.50 and the Higher Education Commission's Gonash Batool bronze in 20:10.80.
Wapda's 27 golds, 17 in the men's events and 10 in the women's, put it clear at the top of the table at the NED University tartan track. Navy finished second overall with nine golds and the HEC third with eight, the Express Tribune reported. Geo Super reported that Wapda's total haul across all medals was 41.
Shajar Abbas of Wapda completed a hat-trick of golds, winning the men's 200m in 20.75 seconds ahead of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Attaullah, who clocked 20.90, and the HEC's Haseeb Ahmed in 21.40.
In the women's 200m, the HEC's Khaula Umar Khan won in 24.80 seconds, with Sindh's Iqra Riaz second and Wapda's Malaika Shehzadi third.
Navy's Usman Ghani took the men's high jump with 1.96 metres. Wapda's Sohail Amir won the men's 5,000m in 15:16.20. Navy won the men's 4x100m relay in 42.00 seconds and Wapda the women's event in 48.63. Wapda also claimed the men's triple jump and hammer throw.
Navy's Amtil Rehman was among the meet's standout performers with four gold medals, while Shajar took three.
The championship was held under the supervision of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan and organised by the Sindh Athletics Association, with support from Lok Sahaita.
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