Qatar finish second behind Morocco in athletics at the 2011 Arab Games in Doha

      Qatar’s men’s and women’s national team achieved a great victory in the athletics championship at the Arab Games, held in Doha from 15 to 20 December 2011 at Khalifa International Stadium, in which (19) Arab countries took part with close to (400) athletes. Qatari athletes collected (6) gold medals, (3) silver and (3) bronze, and Qatar’s women added their first-ever bronze at the Arab Games level, bringing Qatar’s total medal tally to (13). Morocco’s team, meanwhile, collected (11) gold medals, of which Moroccan women won (8) gold medals while their men took (3) gold medals, giving Morocco a total of (11) gold medals, which put them top of the championship. Morocco also won (4) bronze medals shared between men and women, while Moroccan women won (6) bronze medals and their men half that number, giving them (9) bronze medals in total, for an overall tally of (24) medals, of which (16) medals went to the women and (8) to the men – meaning Morocco’s women decided the championship in Morocco’s favour. Third place went to Saudi Arabia’s team, who tied with Qatar’s team on gold medals, but Qatar’s haul of silver, numbering (3) medals, tipped the balance in Qatar’s favour, as none of the Saudi athletes won a silver medal, settling for a single bronze, giving them (7) medals in total. Egypt’s team, despite collecting (22) medals in total, came fourth,  as Egyptian women won (15) medals, of which (3) were gold, (8) silver and (4) bronze, while Egypt’s men claimed (2) gold, (4) silver and (1) bronze medals, for a total of (7) medals – meaning Moroccan and Egyptian women ranked better than their men and won double what the men achieved this season. In fifth place, Tunisia and Bahrain tied on gold, each collecting (4) medals, and as with Morocco’s and Egypt’s women deciding the outcome, Tunisia’s women also settled matters with their haul of silver, giving Tunisia fifth place, with Bahrain taking sixth, Algeria seventh, Kuwait eighth, the UAE ninth and Iraq tenth.

Al Zaini delighted with our athletics achievements

Abdullah Ahmed Al Zaini, president of the Qatar Athletics Federation, expressed his satisfaction with the results achieved by Qatari athletes in the athletics competition, especially the emergence of a new generation of athletes who proved their worth at the championship and achieved the qualifying standards for the London 2012 Olympic Games – Hamza Deryouch and Mohammed Al Karni in the 1500m, and Musab Abdulrahman Balla, the 800m gold medallist. Some of our athletes also returned to the level we knew them for and won gold medals, among them Rashed Al Dosari and Abubaker Ali Kamal, who claimed two golds in the 3000m steeplechase and the 5000m and achieved the qualifying standards for the London Olympics. Our women’s team also won the bronze medal in the 4x100m relay, the first medal our women have won  at the Arab Games, noting that the Qatari athletes are from the Nashieen category and competed alongside the women’s category, which gives them strong motivation and incentive to achieve success in the near future.

Al Zaini dedicates the achievement to the Amir and the trusted Crown Prince, may God protect them

Al Zaini said the administrative, technical and organisational achievements in the athletics competition could not have been realised without the great and continuous patronage and attention of the beloved Amir of the country, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the continuous follow-up of HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and the great support of Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee.

Dahlan Al Hamad: what was achieved in the athletics competition is a superb achievement by every measure

Dahlan Al Hamad, IAAF vice president and acting president of the Asian Athletics Association, noted that the administrative, technical and organisational achievements were superb by every measure, saying the technical indicators – including the breaking of (9) Arab Games records – and the organisational indicators showed that the athletics competition in Doha was the best in the history of Arab athletics. He affirmed that this could not have been achieved without the great effort put in by the brothers of the Qatari athletics family, which was reflected in this superb organisation that won the admiration of all the delegations and guests.

 Results of Qatar’s men’s and women’s athletics team

 at the Arab Games – Doha 2011

 ** Results of Qatar’s men’s team

Standings of the countries at the athletics championship of the Arab Games – Doha 2011

Standings of the countries at the athletics championship of the Arab Games – Doha 2011