Samba steps closer to medal, reaches 400m hurdles final

Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba qualified for his first Olympic Games final at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday.The World bronze medallist ran a 47.47 seconds in the men’s 400m hurdles semi-final, to secure his place in Tuesday's final. In the heat, the second semi-final, Samba finished behind Alison dos Santos, who ran a 47.31.Samba was only the second man to dip under 47 seconds in history behind the then world record holder Kevin Young (46.78) when he ran a 46.98 in Paris in June 2018. However, an injury he suffered in London while running a 400m flat upset his momentum. Samba managed a bronze at the World Championships at home in 2019, finishing behind Norwegian Karsten Warholm and American Rai Benjamin.Yesterday, the two other members of the sub-47 quartet, Warholm and Benjamin, too rolled through their semi-final, setting up an eagerly awaited final showdown.Two-time world champion and world record holder Warholm ran 47.30, while Benjamin 47.37.Warholm last month broke Kevin Young’s 29-year-old world record at the Oslo Diamond League meet, running 46.70.