Our promising champion Mariam Mamdouh Fareed made it through to the girls’ 200 metre final at the 5th Arab Athletics Championships, currently under way at the National Athletics Stadium in Rades, Tunisia. This became Mariam’s second final of the championships, after she qualified directly for the 400 metre hurdles final without heats, when the technical committee decided to hold the final directly after two entrants withdrew, reducing the field to just 8, and so the decision was made to hold the final directly. Mariam’s Algerian coach, Noureddine Tadjine, is considering having her compete in just one race to secure a medal by keeping the Qatari champion focused and avoiding fatigue, especially since the 400 metre hurdles final is due to start first, at 5pm Tunis time (7pm Doha time), followed 50 minutes later by the 200 metre final, which could tire our champion significantly and risk her losing both medals. There is a strong sense of optimism among Mariam and her coach about winning the delegation’s fourth medal, after Mohanad Khamis’s gold in the 2000 metre steeplechase and the bronzes of Abduljalil Al Mannai in the 110 metre hurdles and Abdulrahman Jamal Khasif in the junior hammer throw.
A great deal of responsibility rests on Mariam Mamdouh Fareed, especially as she is the only Qatari competing in the girls’ category, alongside just 4 boys in the junior category – the smallest number among all countries at the championships, again due to exams and studies.
Mariam had competed in the second heat of the girls’ 200 metre semi-final alongside the UAE’s Latifa Issa, Egypt’s Sara Ahmed Al Badawi, Tunisia’s Mariam Tawani and Jordan’s Anoud Mohammed Mahmoud Muhaisen.
The first heat included Lea Bouabid of Lebanon, Khouloud Chetioui of Tunisia, Suad Abdulillah Madloul Al Rimahi of Iraq, Noureen Hassan of Egypt, Safaa Othman Abdulkarim of Sudan and Hadeer Omar Al Dghaimat of Jordan.
For her part, our champion expressed great happiness at reaching the 200 metre final, hoping to produce her best performance in the final and win the gold medal to dedicate to Qatar
In the same vein, in yesterday’s competition our champion Abdulrahman Jamal Khasif had to settle for eighth place among 10 competitors in the discus with a throw of 40.38, meaning his only medal at these championships remains the hammer bronze and the new personal best that earned him great praise. The medal ceremony for our champions Khasif and Mohanad Khamis was attended by the president of the Tunisian federation and officials of the Arab federation.
Tunisian sports minister receives Arab federation members
Tunisian Minister of Youth and Sport Maher Ben Dhia received, at the ministry’s headquarters on Monday, members of the Arab Athletics Federation led by Sulaiman Awad Al Zaidi, in the presence of Fathi Hachicha, president of the Tunisian Athletics Federation, and Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, secretary-general of the Qatar federation and administrative delegate for the championships.
The Tunisian minister stressed the need for a joint strategy among all Arab countries to develop sport, encourage young people to take part in it, and provide every element needed for success and excellence.
For his part, the president of the Arab Athletics Federation pointed to the importance of this sporting event and its effective contribution to developing promising athletes and producing world-class champions, describing it as an opportunity for Arab youth to meet and interact, and stressing the need to encourage all Arab countries to host and take part in such events.
Strong support
In a clear show of unity, and despite the competitions being held in morning and evening sessions from early in the day, Qatar’s delegation made a point of continually attending every event contested by our champions, offering them moral support to help achieve the best results and raise Qatar’s name high.
Despite the great fatigue of spending long hours at Rades stadium, the support remained constant throughout the championships, starting with delegation head Abdulrahman Al Nobi, as well as federation board member Mai Al Mohammadi, and coaches and officials Saleh Hassan and Nadia Al Khenji, and the scene in the stands was truly wonderful, with this beautiful backing from the Qatari delegation for the team’s champions.
