Qatar’s junior athletics delegation returned yesterday evening with gold, silver and bronze from the Syrian city of Aleppo, having raised Qatar’s name high at the Arab Junior Athletics Championship held over the past few days.
The delegation arrived to a joyous reception, with everyone delighted at the achievement of Qatar’s team winning seven medals at the championship: three gold, two silver and two bronze.
Rashed Al Ansari, a former board member of the athletics federation and head of public relations, was among those who welcomed the delegation, alongside Mariam Ishaq, head of the girls’ team.
Qatar’s champions expressed their happiness and full satisfaction with the achievement, agreeing that they had been even more determined to achieve success for Qatar, and that they had in fact prepared to achieve even greater results than those achieved, but were satisfied with the six medals they won in the competition.
The medals were achieved as follows: Mohammed Qaida won the gold medal in the junior javelin throw with a Qatari record of 69.95 m
Khalid Al Sayari won the gold medal in the junior high jump, setting a new Qatari record of 2.14 m
In the junior hammer throw, Abdulrahman Al Shahrani won the silver medal with 59.26 m
Rima Ellen Thomas won the bronze medal in the junior girls’ long jump with 5.70 m.
Eid Al Kuwari won the bronze medal in the 100m with a personal best of 11.03 seconds
Mohammed Qaida, who won the gold medal in the javelin throw, said he was happy with the achievement and dedicated it to officials at the Olympic Committee and the athletics federation, as well as to his family.
Mohammed Qaida stated that he was seeking to achieve further successes for Qatar’s team in future events, noting that the competition at the Arab Championship in Syria had been good.
Mohammed Taha, the delegation’s administrator, stated that they had expected Qatar’s team to achieve even more, but that they were satisfied with what had been accomplished.
He said that an injury to Mohammed Ahmed Al Manai had prevented him from taking part in the championship, stressing that he was one of the influential members of Qatar’s athletics team in the pole vault and other events.
He said that setting new records was among Qatar’s team’s achievements at this championship, confirming that Al Sayari had qualified to compete at the World Youth Championships.
Mohammed Taha added that the achievement of Eid Al Kuwari in the 100m with a personal best of 11.03 seconds for the first time, as well as that of Mohammed Qaida with a Qatari record, all confirmed that our champions would have their say in the future of athletics.
Mariam Ishaq, head of Qatar’s girls’ team, said she dedicated the achievement to officials at the Olympic Committee and the athletics federation, noting that what had been achieved represented a further addition to athletics’ achievements, and confirming that the sport was moving in the right direction. She expressed her full satisfaction with everything achieved, especially given that the athletes were young, which she said were good indicators confirming that a bright future awaited Qatar’s champions in all events
