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Qatar’s Saif Mohammed qualified for the men’s pole vault final at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 Saturday, setting a new Qatar, Gulf, Arab and West Asia record for with a clearance of 5.75m.President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Mohammed Issa Al-Fadala, hailed the achievement, expressing confidence in Saif’s ability to excel in the final.“The historic achievement of champion Saif Mohammed in pole vault and his record is a source of pride for all Qataris and Arabs. He has not only raised the name of Qatar, but also the flag of the Arabs and Asia in the world’s toughest athletics competitions,” Al-Fadala said.Qatar is competing in Tokyo with 11 athletes. Among the standout entries, Abderrahman Samba, bronze medallist in the 400m hurdles at the 2019 Doha Worlds, returns to the event alongside Bassem Hemeida. The 4x400m relay team will feature Ashraf Hussein, Hemeida, Ismail Daoud, and Ammar Ismail.Omar Dawood lines up in the 110m hurdles while Ammar Ismail, Khaled Hussein, Youssef Abdel Aziz, and Ahmed Haroun will race in the 400m, with Ibrahim Zakaria in the 800m.

The Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) has announced the list of athletes who will represent the State of Qatar in the IAAF World Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, from September 13 to 21.The federation published in a statement on its official account on the social networking platform /X/ a list of 12 athletes who will participate in the championship with the aim of achieving success and continuing the excellence of Qatari athletics at the global level. They are: Mutaz Barshim, Abderrahman Samba, Ismail Dawood, Omar Dawood, Bassem Hemeida, Saif Mohammed, Ashraf Hussein, Ammar Ismail, Ibrahim Zakaria, Khaled Hussein, Abdulaziz Youssef, and Ahmed Haroun.It is noteworthy that Olympic and world champion Mutaz Barshim in the high jump won the gold medal in the competition three consecutive times at the London 2017, Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022 editions, while runner Abderrahman Samba is participating in the 400m hurdles race, having previously won the bronze medal in the Doha 2019 edition. Runner Bassem Hemeida is also participating in the same event.The Barshim and Samba duo are the most prominent candidates for colored medals, along with the 4x400m relay team consisting of runners Ashraf Hussein, Bassem Hemeida, Ismail Dawood and Ammar Ismail.The statement added that Saif Mohammed (23 years old) will participate in the pole vault competition in his first appearance at the men's World Championships, in addition to Omar Dawood in the 110m hurdles race, Ammar Ismail, Khaled Hussein, Youssef Abdelaziz and Ahmed Haroun in the 400m race, and Ibrahim Zakaria in the 800m race.The World Championships are held in Tokyo with the participation of more than 2,000 athletes from over 200 countries, competing for more than 100 medals.

Australia’s Olympic and world champion pole vaulter Nina Kennedy has pulled out of this month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo because of a leg injury.Kennedy, who last year became the first Australian woman to win Olympic gold in a field event, underwent hamstring surgery in April after three strains in six weeks.Despite not having competed since September last year, Kennedy said last week that she was determined to defend her title in Japan on a wildcard.Another injury setback forced her to reassess, however.“Not the news I want to be sharing,” the 28-year-old wrote in an Instagram post Friday.“I’ve strained a muscle in my leg in one of my last sessions before worlds (not near the surgery site, which is a win). I’m sad to say I will be withdrawing from the world championships.“Even though I’m disappointed, I’m proud of myself for trying to get back and put myself in the best position to jump high at worlds. I can genuinely say I did everything I could, I gave it a red-hot crack and that in itself is a measure of success. Sport can be brutal, but injuries are just part of the journey, and that’s okay.”Kennedy cleared 4.90 metres to win the world title in Budapest in 2023, the same height that won her Olympic gold in Paris last year. Her personal best is 4.91m.

The Qatar Athletics Federation has set up a training camp in Narita, Japan, to help national team athletes acclimatise ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.The camp includes qualified track and field athletes and coaching staff, with others expected to join upon meeting qualification standards.The Federation aims to maximise its representation at the event and continue Qatar’s success on the world stage.Top names like Abderrahman Samba, Ammar Ismail, Bassem Hemeida, Ashraf Othman, and Hatem Hamid are already confirmed. More athletes are pursuing qualification through IAAF-sanctioned meets in Europe.The World Championships will take place in Tokyo from 13–21 September 2025, featuring over 2,000 athletes from around 200 countries across the globe.