A truly unique story at the Arab Championships had the whole Qatari delegation talking, after our gold medallist Mohanad Khamis Abdullah triumphed in the 2000m steeplechase. It turned out that the champion’s coach is none other than his own father, Khamis Abdullah, a former star of Qatar athletics and Al Rayyan club in years past, who achieved many honours for Qatar.
Father and coach Khamis Abdullah expressed both happiness and pride in Mohanad after his gold medal and first-place finish, which raised his country’s flag high, stressing that the bigger goal now is to shine at the upcoming World Championships in Colombia and win a medal for Qatar.
He stressed that Mohanad has what it takes to reach the world stage, given the great support he also receives from federation officials led by HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad.
Saleh Hassan, team administrator: the steeplechase gold warmed our hearts
Saleh Hassan, administrator of our national junior athletics team, expressed his great happiness at Mohanad Khamis Abdullah’s gold medal in the 2000m steeplechase, which gave our team its title at the championships.
Saleh Hassan said: “This gold undoubtedly warmed our hearts and delighted the whole delegation, because it confirmed that Qatar athletics is heading in the right direction through its focus on grassroots development. Despite the many absences from our squad due to exams and study commitments, our champions delivered and made it onto the podium.”
Saleh Hassan also praised champions Abdulrahman Jamal Khasif and Abduljalil Al Mannai, who won bronze medals in the 110m hurdles and hammer throw respectively.
Al Zaidi meets French federation member
Sulaiman Al Zaidi, president of the Arab Athletics Federation, held an important meeting with Garcia, a member of the French Athletics Federation and of the Mediterranean Athletics Federation, on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 5th Arab Junior Athletics Championships. The meeting discussed ways of cooperating between the Arab, French and Mediterranean athletics federations and how to work together in the future for the benefit of athletics.
Great effort from the technical committee
The Arab Championships’ technical committee is making a great effort to ensure the competitions run smoothly and are presented in the best possible light, working to overcome all difficulties and limited resources
Dr Jabbar Rahima of Iraq and Habib Al Rab’an of Saudi Arabia have been working tirelessly, in coordination with administrative delegate Mohammed Jassim Al Kuwari, from the start of the competitions each day through to the closing.
The technical committee prepares the events on schedule and in a highly organised manner, checking athletes’ eligibility and issuing results promptly for the various media representatives.
