Not surprisingly Sam Fernando from Gateside and Fife Athletic Club ran strongly in his first event at the Inas Global Games 2019 at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Brisbane earlier in the week.
Japanese athletes dominated the T20 10,000 metres INAS World Championships final, winning all three medals. Kazuhiro Morito won the race in 31:53.04 and Sam finished seventh in 33:56.77. The sixth placed athlete finished in a time that was six seconds faster than Sam’s personal best for 10K. Eighteen athletes contested the final.
Sam started the race comfortably and after ten laps was running with the pack. One Japanese athlete was well out in front but the other competitors were sensible enough to let him go. The pace was intense and not surprisingly Sam lost confidence in his ability to stick with the pack and he sensibly allowed a gap to open. The next ten laps were not his best but as other athletes tired he picked up again and made his way back into contention. Two of the runners he ran against at the INAS European Championships in Paris last year were well ahead of him but in a couple of laps, he caught and then passed them which boosted his confidence.
It cannot be underestimated how challenging it is for an athlete with additional support needs to compete over 10,000 metres when the ability of the competitors varies considerably. Athletes were spread over the full 400 metres of the track and in this particular race the winning Japanese athlete lapped all other seventeen competitors. Sam became confused and stopped one lap early and lost at least 10 seconds. Interventions from officials and Team UK staff and supporters encouraged him to start running again but the delay undoubtedly influenced his finishing time if not his finishing position. My understanding is that despite this unbelievably challenging situation, Sam managed to put in a very strong final lap.
Sam ran very well in his first INAS Global Games event. Processing information and coping with the many changes that happen in distance races are just some of the challenges faced by athletes with intellectual impairments. Sam had lots of decisions to make but he coped admirably. The heat also made the setting more demanding and Sam did well to finish ahead of top T20 athletes from Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Sam has enjoyed some quality steeplechase training in preparation for his major event on Thursday over 3K plus of course the barriers and water jump. All of us in Fife and beyond wish Sam all the very best in his strongest event of recent times.
The 10K was another learning experience for the young Fife athlete. He will now be even better prepared to take on the world’s leading athletes over the barriers and water in his second event at the INAS Global Games. Come on Sam we are all behind you.
Richard Brickley OBE MBE Chairman DSF (SCIO) Board of Charity Trustees
