Qatar’s national team competing at the Doha 2019 World Athletics Championships, which officially get under way on Friday 27 September in the Qatari capital, Doha, is looking to rewrite the history of its participation at the World Championships by making the most of home advantage and home support, with the event being held on Qatari soil for the first time in the Middle East.
The 18-strong Qatari delegation is aiming to win a number of medals across several disciplines, most notably the high jump, discus, 400m and 400m hurdles
The Qatari team is currently in a closed training camp at the Torch Hotel in Doha, with intense focus and high spirits, aiming to reach peak technical and physical readiness before the competition officially begins.
Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim leads the ambitions of the 18-strong Qatari squad of 16 men and two women: Owaab Othman Barrow, Youth Olympic champion in Argentina, in the 100m; Abdulaziz Ahmed in the 200m; Abdalelah Haroun in the 400m; Abubaker Haydar and Jamal Hairane in the 800m; Abdulrahman Said in the 1500m; Yasser Salem in the 3000m steeplechase; Abderrahman Samba in the 400m hurdles; Mutaz Barshim in the high jump; and Ashraf Al Seify in the hammer throw, in addition to the 4x100m relay team (Mohammed Zakaria, Khalid Ogunode and Tosin Ogunode, alongside Owaab Barrow and Abdulaziz Ahmed, with Yaqoub Said Al Hosani as an additional member) and the 4x400m relay team (Mohammed Nasser Abbas, Basem Hemeida and Ashraf Hussein Othman, alongside Abderrahman Samba and Haroun). The women’s team includes Mariam Farid in the 400m hurdles and Kinza Rachid in the 400m.
The Qatari delegation to the championships is headed by Khalifa Abdulmalik, national teams director and board member, along with Khalid Al Marri, deputy national teams director and federation executive director (as delegation manager), and coach Joachim Kroug as technical expert, alongside members of the national teams’ technical and medical staff.
In its history at the World Athletics Championships, held since 1983, Qatar has won seven medals – three gold, two silver and two bronze – claimed by our champions: runner Saif Saeed Shaheen won two gold medals, at the Paris 2003 and Helsinki 2005 World Championships; high jump champion Mutaz Essa Barshim won silver at the Moscow 2013 World Championships and another gold in London 2017; runner Mubarak Hassan Shami won silver in the marathon at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan; runner James Kwalia won bronze in the 5000m at the Berlin 2009 World Championships; and runner Abdalelah Haroun won bronze in the 400m at the London 2017 World Championships.
Khalifa Abdulmalik, national teams director, board member and adviser to the Qatar Athletics Federation, described the World Championships as a real and difficult test for all the Qatari champions taking part.
Abdulmalik affirmed that the Qatari team’s preparations had been positive, noting that everyone was now ready to take on the World Championship challenge, and that every Qatari champion, established or promising, taking part in the biggest sporting event of the year, held on Qatari soil, had legitimate goals and great ambitions.
Abdulmalik said: “We are aware of the scale of responsibility and pressure on all of us, but everyone understands their role well and what is required of them to achieve their goals and ambitions.” He added: “The conditions of athletics competition sometimes make it hard to predict results – there can be a favourite who doesn’t succeed in their bid – but our hopes and ambitions will remain in place to achieve positive results, to honour our country and please our fans, God willing. We simply ask for guidance and success, and that God protect our champions from the scourge of injuries, which many of them suffered from last year and this year, greatly hampering their preparations.
For his part, Qatari Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim, winner of high jump gold at the London 2017 World Championships, said he was continuing his top-level preparations to take on the global challenge being held in his own country, and that he was well aware of the scale of responsibility and pressure facing all our champions to deliver their best performance and effort at the championships.
Barshim said: “Nothing is impossible in the world of sport, and anything can happen. We simply hope for success and guidance for ourselves and for all of Qatar’s athletics ambassadors at the World Championships.
Roll of honour: Qatar’s champions at the World Athletics Championships:
1- (Paris 2003) Qatar’s Saif Saeed Shaheen, gold in the 3000m steeplechase.
2- (Helsinki 2005) Qatar’s Saif Saeed Shaheen, gold in the 3000m steeplechase.
3- (Osaka 2007) Qatar’s Mubarak Hassan Shami, silver in the marathon.
4- (Berlin 2009) Qatar’s James Kwalia Kirwa, bronze in the 5000m.
5- (Moscow 2013) Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim, silver in the high jump.
6- (London 2017) Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim, gold in the high jump.
7- (London 2017) Qatar’s Abdalelah Haroun, bronze in the 400m.
