High jump defending champion Mutaz Essa Barshim and 400m hurdles Asian champion Abderrahman Samba will lead Team Qatar’s charge at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
While Barshim made an impressive return to action from injury earlier this year, Samba will be raring to go against an exciting line up in the 400m hurdles event with two more athletes dipping under 47 seconds this year since he became only the second athlete to do so in Paris last year.
Barshim had won gold in London with a 2.35m effort and has already jumped 2.27m twice since June this year. Last year, at the Doha Diamond League event, Barshim extended his record of six plus seasons with a 2.40m-plus effort, and supporters will be hoping for the 2017 World Athlete of the year to only further that streak.
Youngster Owaab Barrow will be the first Team Qatar athlete to take to the state-of-the-art Khalifa International Stadium on the opening day of the championships on Friday when he lines up for the 100m preliminaries.
Barrow is also part of the 4x100m relay squad alongside Yaqoob al-Hasani, Mahamat Zakaria Khalid, Abdelaziz Mohamed, Asian 100m record holder Femi Ogunode and 2018 Asian Games silver medallist Tosin Ogunode.
Samba is also in the 400m list alongside London bronze medallist and Asian Games gold medallist Abdalelah Haroun.
Both Samba and Haroun, alongwith elder Ogunode, Femi, strengthen the 4x400m relay squad is alongwith Mohamed Nasir Abbas, Bassem Hemeida and Ashraf Hussen Osman. Samba, Hemeida and Osman were part of the bronze-winning team at the Asian Athletics Championships, which was the test event for the Worlds in April this year.
Abdelaziz Mohamed will also line up in the men’s 200m, while Abubaker Haydar Abdalla has been listed for 800m. Abdirahman Saeed Hassan and Yaser Salem Bagharab have been listed for the 1,500m and 3,000m steeplechase respectively.
Former under-20 world champion and 2018 Asian Games gold medallist Ashraf Amgad El Seify will represent the home team at the men’s hammer throw.
Besides the 16 male athletes, the Doha 2019 bid ambassador Marim Farid and Kenza Sosse are part of the contingent too, with Farid lining up in the women’s 400m hurdles and Sosse in the women’s 400m flat.
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