Alkass English
Qatar marked a memorable day at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, with all three of its 400m hurdlers storming into the semi-finals and Seif Mohamed earning a top-10 finish in the pole vault on Monday.
Abderrahman Samba, the Asian record holder and former world bronze medalist, laid down a statement of intent by dominating the heats. His 48.03-second run not only won his race but also topped the entire field of 44 competitors at the National Stadium.
Bassem Hemeida followed with another powerful display, clocking 48.43 seconds to edge past Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, the Paris Olympic bronze medalist and former world champion, by just 0.05 seconds.
The day’s surprise came in the heat featuring Norway’s world-record holder Karsten Warholm. At just 21, Ismail Doudai Abakar clocked 48.34 seconds to finish ahead of Warholm, booking his semi-final spot despite Brazil’s Matheus Lima stealing the win.
With all three Qatari hurdlers advancing, the nation heads into Tuesday’s semi-finals with genuine hopes of a historic medal haul in the event.
In the pole vault final, 20-year-old Seif Mohamed impressed on his World Championships debut by clearing 5.75m to secure ninth place against elite competition. The event, once again, was headlined by Sweden’s Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, who thrilled Tokyo by resetting his own world record for the 14th time, clearing an astonishing 6.30m.
Elsewhere, Omar Doudai Abakar’s campaign in the men’s 110m hurdles ended in the heats, where he finished last in his race with a time of 14.03 seconds.