Chouhal sets new national mark in long jump

Rashid Chouhal is gearing up well for this year's GSSE in Andorra. Yesterday, the Zurrieq Wolves athlete established a new national record in the long jump during the Easter Friendly Meeting at the Marsa Athletic Stadium.

Chouhal leapt to 7.71m to better his own previous mark of 7.65, set in 2002, by seven centimetres. The result is a huge injection of confidence for the 28-year-old who has already achieved the Minimum Qualifying Standard needed to compete in the GSSE. In Andorra, Chouhal will be defending his gold medal won in Malta in 2003.

In the 100 metres, Darren Gilford was just outside the MQS set for Andorra when he clocked 10.69 seconds... just 0.07 of a second outside the qualifying mark.