IT is hard for any track and field athlete to stomach the harsh reality that his or her record has not been ratified because of irregularities on the part of officials or the athletics body.

Samantha Arkatsa and Mervyn Loizeau lived this unpleasant experience this week as their fast times clocked over 100 metres in last Saturday's Track & Field Meet were not ratified by the technical committee of the Seychelles Amateur Athletics Federation (SAAF).

According to an SAAF spokesperson, the reason for not ratifying those times is because the wind was too strong.

It is true that there were strong winds blowing in the athletes' back, pushing them to go faster in Saturday's competition, but it is difficult for anyone to judge the wind speed for any race as it may happen that the wind dies down during the race or while making a jump.

In Saturday's Track & Field Meet at Stad Linite, there was no wind gauge to measure the wind speed. This has been the case for some time now and now athletes are paying the price.

For a record to be ratified, the wind must not be blowing at a speed of more than two metres per hour and the only way to get the measurement right is through a wind gauge.

River Stars' Arkatsa hit the tape of the 100-metre race in 12.7 seconds.

The performance equalled the youth record shared by Arkatsa herself and Linda Felix.

It is to note that Arkatsa had run 12.7 seconds during the Patron's Cup on Saturday March 24 to share the female youth record with Felix, who first set the time on May 9, 1998.

As for Mervyn Loizeau, he clocked 10.7 seconds over the same distance to dip below the 11-second mark for the first time in his career.

The 16-year-old East Coast sprinter, whose youth record is 11.1 seconds and set during the Patron's Cup on Saturday March 24, told Sports Nation after last Saturday's competition that he was "pleased with my result as I've achieved my target of running the blue-ribban race inside 11 seconds."

It is also worth noting that when Beryl Laramé landed at a distance of 12.62 metres in the triple jump event on May 27, 2000 at Stad Popiler, her record was ratified despite strong winds and with no wind gauge to measure the wind speed.

According to the same SAAF spokesperson, the local body has two wind gauges but neither one is functioning because there are no batteries.

Moreover, the photo-finish equipment used for electronic timing is also not functioning and it is not clear when it will be fixed.

G. G.