Major General Dahlan Al Hamad pleased with the results and satisfied with the continent’s champions’ showing
Qatar’s champions concluded their representation of the Asian continent at the IAAF Continental Cup in Morocco with outstanding results among a host of world champions from various continents, and Qatar’s champions were able to present the Asian continent in its finest light, taking on the champions of the different continents, as four of Qatar’s elite champions took part in the championship representing the Asian continent in the great challenge, starting with Qatar’s Olympic and world champion, holder of the Diamond League high jump trophy in the athletics Diamond League that concluded this month.
Qatar’s champions’ representation of the Asian continent was outstanding in results and superb in the challenge, as the Olympic and world champion took third place for the continent in the high jump after clearing 2.37m.
Femi takes on the big names
Asia’s participation in the championship was distinguished by the sprints, in which our Qatari champion Femi Ogunode took on the challenge, getting the better of more than one continental champion in the 100m and securing third place and the bronze medal for the continent, Asia not having known a notable position in this great challenge for several years, but Femi managed to put it ahead of the European continent, which took first and second place in the championship’s 100m. Femi had a date with history as he wrote himself a new time, finishing third in 10.04 seconds, a new mark with which our promising champion won the bronze medal for the Asian continent and made it third in the sprint standings, behind James Dasaolu, who took first place in 10.03 seconds, while his compatriot Mike Rodgers took second place recording the same time as Femi, 10.04 seconds, with the advantage of the photo finish at the line.
Femi is regarded as Qatar’s coming sprint champion and one of the most improving athletes in the mother of sports according to IAAF statistics, having recently finished second in the Diamond League champions’ standings, a great achievement for the promising champion.
Femi third in the 200m
Our promising champion Femi Ogunode took third place for the Asian continent in the 200m, finishing behind the champions of the American continent who took first and second place, Panama’s Alonso Edward and Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer, with the first clocking 19.98 seconds and the second recording the same time but with the advantage of the photo finish; Femi, however, was there at the right moment and managed to secure third place with a time of 20.17 seconds, meaning Femi had won Asia two places in two races and placed the continent third.
A good challenge for our champion Musaab
Although he approached the 800m with a different focus, concentrating on the Asian challenge in which he is defending his title, our outstanding champion faced fierce competition from the giants of the African continent, with Botswana’s Nijel Amos putting Africa in front in this race, clocking 1:44.88, followed by Ethiopia’s Mohammed Aman in second with 1:45.34, while Europe’s Adam Kszczot came third; our champion Musaab finished sixth in the race in 1:48.50, having been preceded by Australia’s Jeff Riseley, representing the Asian continent, who clocked 1:46.20. This race saw an ordinary performance from the champions in terms of results, the race not being run at the pace expected of it because the champions were coming off various world challenges, chief among them the athletics Diamond League, which left them somewhat tired for the great challenge.
Koko puts Asia third
Our strong Qatari champion Abubaker Ali Kamal succeeded in putting the Asian continent in third place in the 3000m steeplechase, as our champion Koko recorded an outstanding time for him this season of 8:17.27, his best personal mark, putting Asia third behind Kenya and the United States. Kenya’s Jairus Birech took first place representing the African continent, recording 8:13.18, while the United States’ Evan Jager took second place, putting his continent second in the race with a time of 8:14.08. This race saw exciting participation from the champions of the various continents in the challenge.
Major General Al Hamad expresses his satisfaction
For his part, Qatar’s Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, President of the Asian Athletics Association and Vice-President of the IAAF, took part in the meeting of the presidents of the continental athletics federations on the sidelines of the Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco. Al Hamad’s participation came in his capacity as President of the Asian continental federation, in the presence of Lamine Diack, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The challenge saw a large gathering of the mother of sporting events, and Al Hamad expressed his satisfaction with the Asian continent’s results in the great challenge, praising Qatar’s champions for a participation that came at an even more distinguished level and placed the continent in a good ranking. Al Hamad also praised the outstanding result of China’s Li Yang, who took first place in the pole vault at the championship representing the Asian continent in the great challenge, considering that athletics in Asia is moving forward with steady steps, especially given the sport’s development on every continent. Al Hamad noted that Qatar’s champions did the continent credit with distinguished results, pointing to Femi Ogunode, who achieved success for himself in the 100m and 200m sprints with third place and continues to improve, as well as noting our Olympic and world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim and Abubaker Ali Kamal, who is back once again, and said that the continent’s choice of Qatar’s champions did not come out of nowhere, but because everyone knows Qatar’s champions are capable of doing the continent credit with the best results in the challenge.
Qatari administrative representation
The Asian delegation that took part in the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech, Morocco, also had Qatari administrative representation, with the official delegation headed by Singapore’s Maurice, Secretary General of the Asian Athletics Association, and Qatar’s Yousef Ahmed, Treasurer of the Qatar Athletics Federation, in addition to Qatar’s Yaqoub Abdullah, administrative manager of the delegation at the championship.
