Imranur, Shirin reign amid timing chaos

London-based sprinter Imranur Rahman and Shirin Akter retained their crowns as Bangladesh's fastest man and woman on Friday, though an embarrassing timing system failure overshadowed the opening day of the Koko National Summer Athletics Competition 2026.

Running at Dhaka's National Stadium, Imranur claimed the men's 100-metre gold with a time of 10.53 seconds for the Bangladesh Army. Mohammad Ismail finished second in 10.67 seconds, while Tareq Rahman took third with 10.73 seconds.

The blue-riband event, however, was marred by technical chaos. Despite the athletics federation's pre-tournament promises of a repaired electronic photo-finish system and live online results, the machinery displayed incorrect times. The blunder peaked when Imranur and his fellow medallists were receiving their prizes from Bangladesh President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, as the giant stadium screen showed the wrong results before being corrected several minutes later.

Despite the glitch, Imranur was pleased to receive his first domestic medal from a head of state. "Alhamdulillah, this is a special moment for me. I am proud to win the gold medal for the Army," he said. "I ran reasonably well, but my main focus was on securing the win. I still have the 200 metres and the 100-metre relay ahead, so I wanted to keep my body fresh."

Speaking on the President's attendance, he added: "Taking the prize from the President is certainly an honour. It is a special occasion for athletics too. Our sport needs more promotion and backing. If important state figures stand by us like this, we can organise larger competitions in the future."

Addressing questions about his timings, Imranur said: "You cannot always run as expected. Differences in timing can happen due to inadequate preparation or other factors. Athletes do not perform equally well in every competition." Looking ahead to the South Asian (SA) Games, he said: "With proper infrastructure and full preparation, it is possible to fight for the SA Games gold medal."

In the women's 100-metre sprint, Shirin extended her domestic dominance to win her 18th national-level crown, crossing the line first in 12.08 seconds. Sharifa Khatun followed in 12.23 seconds, and Sumaiya Dewan finished third in 12.33 seconds.

Shirin, who is planning to pursue a PhD abroad alongside advanced training, credited her support network. "Alhamdulillah, it was wonderful. No success is achieved alone. Many people and institutions work behind it. My coach Abdullah Hel Kafi, his family, my younger brother and his family, my own family, and my husband Lincoln have always stood by me," she said.

"I have not set a limit on how many times I will be champion. However, I want to improve my timings. My coach can tell you the rest about his plans for me," Shirin added. She also praised the state's backing: "It is an amazing feeling. It shows the government is trying to take sports forward, and we feel encouraged. The whole of Bangladesh is watching who becomes the fastest woman. Having the head of state come and reward us felt truly remarkable."

Earlier in the morning session, athletes from the Army and Navy dominated the medals. Army runner Borsha Akter set a new national record in the women's 400-metre hurdles, finishing in exactly one minute. Army's Mosharraf Hossain won the men's 1500-metre gold, while Gouranga Roy threw 55.40 metres to win the hammer throw.

Navy's Priya Akter claimed the women's 1500-metre title with a time of 4 minutes and 48 seconds, and teammate Ratan Mridha secured his fourth consecutive gold in the men's triple jump. In the high jump, Army's Ritu Akter cleared 1.65 metres to win her fifth consecutive gold, marking her eighth career title in the event.