Our talented world-class sprinter Abdalelah Haroun secured the 400m gold medal at the World U20 Championships in athletics, currently being held in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and concluding tonight, with our national youth team taking part alongside 1,518 athletes representing 60 countries from around the globe, who competed over the past few days to prove their worth and climb the podium to honour their countries. Gold and future champion Haroun won the gruelling 400m race, confirming his class on the world athletics stage, clocking his season’s best time of 44.81 seconds, while the promising young high jumper Hamdi Al Ameen added a second medal, bronze, for Qatar’s national team in the high jump final with a new personal best of 2.23m. Our national team is taking part in the U20 World Championships with a group of six champions: sprinter Abdalelah Haroun in the 400m, Idris Yousef in the 1500m, Mohanad Khamis Saif Al Din in the 3,000m steeplechase, Hamdi Al Ameen in the high jump, Moaz Ibrahim in the discus, and sprinter Mariam Farid in the 200m, along with a technical staff made up of coaches Abdi Bile, Ibrahim Aden for the long distances, Ali Fadaq, Pavel Stanaliy as the high jump coach, and Afieka as the throws coach, while the medical team consists of physiotherapist Daniel Martinez and physiotherapist Vieira.
The delegation is headed by Khalifa Abdulmalik, director of the national teams, and includes Khalid Al Marri as administrator.
Haroun tops the 400m podium
Looking back at the 400m final, outstanding Qatari runner Abdalelah Haroun put in a remarkable performance, getting the better of his American rival Wilbert London, who finished second in 45.27 seconds, with Botswana’s Karabo Sibanda third in 45.45 seconds, and Kenya’s Geoffrey Kiprotich fourth in 45.35 seconds. Our runner Haroun knew how to run the race intelligently, saving his energy until the final metres before sealing victory ahead of the rest of the field.
A valuable bronze for Al Ameen
Our promising champion Hamdi Al Ameen took third place and bronze in the high jump at the World U20 Championships with a new personal best of 2.23m, while Cuba’s Luis Zayas took gold with 2.27m, and America’s Kareem Draughn was runner-up with 2.25m. The talented Al Ameen reaped great rewards from his participation in the world event, clearing a new height of 2.23m, up from his previous best of 2.20m — a huge leap in the world of high jump (3cm). Al Ameen even came close to clearing 2.25m, but luck was not on his side. This bronze medal will certainly give champion Al Ameen a morale boost and a genuine world-class credential as a talented athlete and a real addition to world athletics, allowing him to follow strongly in the footsteps of our Olympic and world champion Mutaz Barshim. The achievement reflects the soundness of our base of talented young field athletes and a sound approach to planning for building a competent Qatari national team for the future, capable of flying the flag of their country high on the international stage.
“The giant Moaz” qualifies for discus final
Qatari giant Moaz Ibrahim qualified for the final, topping the discus qualifying round with a new personal best of 62.79m. Moaz got the better of a large field of competitors in the qualifying marathon, which featured a record number of 43 promising athletes, only 11 of whom qualified for tonight’s final to fight a fierce battle for the world gold medal. Our champion Moaz is certainly a strong contender for gold with his new mark, while second on the list was Germany’s Martin with 62.16m, and Clemens with 61.16m.
