tag

Qatar’s Bassem Hemeida claimed 400m gold medal at the 12th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin, China, Saturday. He clocked 47.27 seconds to top the field, with China’s Chiyu Zheng finishing runner-up in 47.34 seconds. Iran’s Arash Sayyari secured third place in 47.59 seconds. 

The Al Arabi Stadium buzzed with excitement as Loyola International School (LIS) hosted its Annual Athletics Meet, uniting students from both campuses in a vibrant celebration of excellence and sportsmanship.Held ahead of Qatar National Sports Day, the event highlighted the school’s commitment to fitness, participation, and sporting spirit.**media[413256]**The meet began with the arrival of the chief guest, Saman Fonseka, head coach of the Qatar National Women’s and Under-19 cricket teams, accompanied by the managing director of Loyola International Schools – Qatar, Anup Chakravarthy.The event was officially opened with the hoisting of the school flag, a torch relay, and the ceremonial lighting of the cauldron.The march past and salutation were among the ceremony’s highlight. The sports oath was administered by the sports captain.Addressing the gathering, Fonseka praised the school for its structured sports programme and the discipline of its students.**media[413258]**Principal Bhavana Vijaykumar highlighted the role of sports in fostering purpose and resilience among students. Chakravarthy also spoke.During the prize distribution, the overall championship was awarded to Diamond House from the Al Wukair Campus and Emerald House from the Al Nasr Campus.The principal has congratulated all participants and the sports department for their dedication and efforts. 

Organisers of the Doha Diamond League Meeting on May 8 have confirmed that athletes who set new meeting records at the 2026 event will be awarded a $5000 bonus, an innovative concept that was first introduced in 2025.The Diamond League series broke new ground in 2025 with $9.84mn awarded in prize money across the series as a whole, the largest prize pool in Diamond League history.While the introduction of meeting record bonus payments in Doha provided another welcome incentive for athletes, the high standard of past-performances meant that only Bahrain’s Olympic silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser came close. Her winning time of 49.83 in the women’s 400m matched the meeting record set by Allyson Felix of USA in 2008, but it wasn’t quick enough for the outright best required to meet the criteria for the $5000 bonus payment.Mohammed al-Fadala, Qatar Athletics Federation president, said: “The Doha Meeting has established itself as one of the leading Wanda Diamond League fixtures and feedback from our athletes, their coaches and their managers, repeatedly tells us that our exceptional hospitality is a key factor in them wanting to return.“As Mutaz Barshim said in last year’s press conference, track and field isn’t an easy job, so it’s very important that we value our athletes and take care of them, as well as providing the perfect stage for top quality competition. By continuing to award bonus payments for new meeting records we are incentivising athletes to perform, but we are also rewarding them for their efforts.“Mutaz acknowledged that change is positive and that as a meeting, and across the sport as a whole, we were moving in the right direction. We in Doha remain committed to innovation and change and that remains crucial if we’re to continue to grow our reputation and profile globally.”Earlier, multiple Olympic, world and European champion Mondo Duplantis of Sweden confirmed he will compete in Doha. The 26-year-old, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and six-time world champion, is also the meeting record holder in Doha with 6.02m, set in 2022. He arrives following another standout season, having broken the world record for the 14th time, most recently with 6.30m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.Duplantis is unbeaten in this Doha Diamond League fixture, but it’s been far from plain sailing. The 2020 event was postponed due to the pandemic (he won the rescheduled competition with a best of 5.82m), while in 2022 the men’s pole vault was delayed by one day and moved indoors due to high winds. Duplantis cleared 6.02m for the win on that occasion – a mark that still stands as the meeting record.“We’ve had a couple of challenges in the past for sure, but I’ve always loved coming to Doha,” said the 2025 World Athlete of the Year. “Last year was amazing for me. I ticked off a couple of really big goals, stuff that was high up on my bucket list, but my hunger and motivation is still 100% there. My training has gone well over the winter and I’m looking forward to competing indoors – it’s important to have something new to aim for, and for me, I want to successfully defend my European title. Doha will follow and it’s the perfect meet to kick off my outdoor season. I definitely prefer the warm weather to the cold, so hopefully conditions will be conducive to jumping high, challenging my meeting record, and setting a solid benchmark – and new goals – for the year ahead.”The azzraty Doha Meeting is the opening meeting of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League. The series comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field across four different continents. It concludes with a single final across two days in Brussels on September 4 and 5. 

His Excellency Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), paid an inspection visit to the Athletics Training Center Project at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence.The project, which is being implemented through an integrated partnership between Aspire Academy, the Qatar Athletics Federation and Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital – aims to develop Qatari athletics and elevate it to new levels.During the visit, Sheikh Joaan toured the project's administrative building and reviewed the ongoing work and coordination between the three entities in training, medical preparation, and administrative support. The collaboration is designed to enhance athletes’ performance and support their aspirations for a successful season.He also met with members of the national athletics team, reviewed their training programs, and encouraged them to give their best and prepare thoroughly for upcoming competitions. His Excellency reaffirmed the Qatar Olympic Committee’s commitment to providing the best development environment for athletes.Accompanying the QOC President on the visit were high jump legend Mutaz Barshim, Ivan Bravo, Director General of Aspire Academy; Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid al-Thani, Director of the QOC Sports Sector, Mohammed Issa al-Fadala, President of the Qatar Athletics Federation; as well as several members of the federation’s board of directors. 

Qatari national team runner Idris Abubaker affirmed the national team's readiness to deliver strong performances and bring pride to Qatari athletics at the 3rd Asian Youth Games, to be held in Bahrain from Oct. 22 to 31.Abubaker, who recently won a medal in the 110m hurdles at the West Asian Athletic Championships in Lebanon earlier this month, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the national team athletes are determined to secure the largest possible number of medals for Qatar at the Games, reaffirming the continued excellence of Qatari athletics at the continental level in the youth category.He added that all members of the national team possess high technical capabilities and a strong sense of confidence in winning medals, especially after their complete dominance at the West Asian Youth Athletics Championships, where Qatar ranked first with 23 medals.The 18-year-old runner explained that another key objective for the team is to improve their personal records and qualify for the World Youth Championships, stressing that reaching the global stage with strong performances is no less valuable than winning medals.Abubaker expressed full confidence in his and his teammates' ability to achieve both goals, noting that they enjoy significant support from Qatar Athletics Federation and the technical staff, and they are determined to make every effort to bring further honor to Qatari athletics.He explained that the current generation of the Qatari athletes possesses great determination, a competitive spirit, and confidence in facing challenges, which continues to drive their success in both field and track events. He added that their historic first-place finish at the West Asian Athletic Championships will motivate them to achieve more success at the Asian Youth Games, paving the way toward the 2025 World Youth Championships.A total of 45 countries will participate in the Asian Youth Games, which include a wide range of sports, with athletics among the most medal-rich disciplines of the competition.

The United States finished the world championships in style as Noah Lyles and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed memorable individual weeks by helping their country to emphatic golds in both 4x100m relays in driving rain Sunday.Jefferson-Wooden became the second woman to sweep all three sprint titles at one World Athletics Championships.The 24-year-old, who won the 100-200m double in Tokyo, helped the United States to a lead at the last exchange and Sha'Carri Richardson brought the baton home in 41.75 seconds."I did what I wanted to do individually, and then came back together with my girls, my training partners, and we were all able to walk away with the gold," said Jefferson-Wooden."It's crazy to be going home with three gold medals. I added my name to the history books once again. I am right where I want to be."Jamaica finished second in 41.79 to send sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, whose 2013 sweep Jefferson-Wooden emulated, into retirement with a 17th world championship medal."I'm grateful for the opportunity that I got once more to represent my country and to walk away with a silver medal," said the 38-year-old, who won 10 world and three Olympic sprint titles over her glittering career."I'm excited to have done it with a young team that is coming up, and I'm hoping that I would have done my part to just add some inspiration or some outlook for them."Germany came third in 41.87 for bronze on the back of a blistering final leg from Gina Lueckenkemper to see off Britain, who finished fourth in 42.07.In the men's race, the final track event of what has been a fantastic nine days of action, the U.S. were slick in their handovers despite the testing conditions.Kenny Bednarek got a gold to cheer him up after yet another silver in the 200m, but it was Lyles taking the spotlight again as he brought them home in 37.29 for his second gold after he won a fourth successive 200 following his bronze in the 100."We all know we are the fastest. We just had to get the baton from start to finish," Lyles said."I saw the lead we had and it was a kind of a relief as everybody did such a great job. I just had to finish the race. They made it easy for me. I could not have asked for a better relay."Fast-finishing Canada took silver in 37.55, with the Netherlands delighted to take bronze in a national record 37.81.With the men's discus outstanding, due to rain delays, the U.S. sit top of the medal table with 16 gold, five silver and five bronze. Kenya are second with seven golds, while a record 50 countries have won a medal.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Beatrice Chebet made it a memorable night for Kenya at the world championships as they produced outstanding performances to win the men's 800 metres and women's 5,000m respectively.Just over a year ago the duo left Paris as Olympic champions, while Chebet won both the 5,000 and 10,000m golds. In front of over 58,000 spectators at Japan's National Stadium, she achieved the same feat, beating her idol Faith Kipyegon to become only the third woman to do the distance double at a world championships.Wanyonyi's blisteringly fast race was watched by retired Kenyan 800m legend David Rudisha, who sat beside another man who knows a thing or two about the two-lap race, two-time Olympic silver medallist and World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe.Rudisha produced one of the all-time great Olympic performances when he broke the world record to win gold at the 2012 London Games. There was never any question of that happening in Saturday's final, Wanyonyi winning in a championship record time of 1min 41.86sec.However, Rudisha has all but anointed the 21-year-old former cattle herder as the man most likely to set a new record. "Maybe I will start to think about the world record," Wonyonyi said. "I also want to win gold in Los Angeles in 2028. That's the biggest goal. I met David Rudisha Saturday. He told me just to take a rest and focus, and everything is possible."Chebet enjoys a close friendship with Kipyegon, who is six years her senior, but on the track she is not over-awed by one of the legends of athletics. Indeed Chebet has every chance of being accorded similar status, given her increasingly impressive gold medals tally.Kipyegon, despite her disappointment at failing to repeat her world 1,500m/5000m double from the 2023 Budapest championships, embraced Chebet warmly at the finish. "Going home with two gold medals makes me really happy," said Chebet. "Me and Faith have been friends for a long time. We motivate each other and I am really pleased with our performances."Kipyegon, who retained the 1,500m title earlier in the week, said Chebet "is the best". "I'm now going to have some sleep and go back home and enjoy some time with my daughter," she added.The women's 4x100m relay final Sunday may come to be remembered more for the handing over of the baton from 38-year-old Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to the new queen of the sprints, America's Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. However, Fraser-Pryce will hope to bow out after almost two decades at the top by denying Jefferson-Wooden a third gold medal, which would equal her achievement in Moscow in 2013.The USA men's 4x100m relay teams have gained a reputation down the years for fouling up baton exchanges – the latest example came at the Olympics last year.This time though it was not them but their great rivals Jamaica who came up short as Ryiem Forde's handover to 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson on the anchor leg went awry. The two did not exchange a word as they walked the 90 metres or so to the line in a heat won by Olympic champions Canada.Anna Hall exchanged world silver for gold in the heptathlon, but it was Kate O'Connor's performance that caught the eye as the 24-year-old took silver, a first ever in the event for Ireland. In fact, it was just Ireland's seventh medal in championships history and their first since 2013. "I knew that I was always going to be in with a shot of a medal," said the Northern Ireland-born O'Connor. "But it's the one thing being in with a shot and another actually going out and doing it."Caio Bonfim will be bringing a gold medal home to Brazil, winning the men's 20km walk after finishing second in the 35km walk last Saturday. However, the 34-year-old will be returning home without one item he left Brazil with. "I lost my wedding ring in the third kilometre. I believe my wife will be OK because I won today," he said.Ecuador's Juleisy Angulo surprised even herself by launching the javelin 65.12 metres with the second of her six attempts to clinch gold. Angulo was ranked 31st in the world coming into the final and her winning throw beat her previous personal best by 1.87 metres."My goal here was to reach the final so I am very emotional, in shock. I still can't believe it," the 24-year-old said. "I have dreamed of a world medal since I started athletics. I have faced some adversities, such as two surgeries in my left knee, but I persevered. I never gave up."Angulo's medal was a first at the world championships for Ecuador away from race-walking since Alex Quinonez won a bronze in the 200 metres six years ago in Doha.While Angulo set out her stall early, Latvian Anete Sietina saved her best until last with a personal best of 64.64m on her final throw of the night to clinch silver.While the top two were first-time medallists at global championships, Australia's Mackenzie Little won a second successive world bronze medal after her opening throw of 63.58m was beaten by only Angulo and Sietina.

Qatar's 4x400m relay team reached the final for the first time in history at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday.The quartet of Abderrahman Samba, Yahya Ibrahim, Bassem Hemieda and Ismail Daoud clocked a national record of 3:00.15 secs to finish second in the heats. South Africa topped the heats in 2:58.81 secs, while Netherlands also advanced from the same heat with a season-best 3:00.23 secs.Samba expressed delight at the team’s achievement, stressing that Qatar competed as a united group with a clear strategy to conserve energy for the final. He underlined the team’s determination to fight for a medal despite the tough competition. Samba had earlier won bronze in the 400m hurdles, the second of his career.

The Qatari Paralympic Team will take part in the IPC Athletics World Championships, scheduled in New Delhi, India, from September 26 to October 5. More than 1,000 athletes will compete in over 160 track and field events.The Qatari delegation, headed by Board Member Mohammed Dahim al-Dosari, will depart for New Delhi Sunday. The squad includes Abdulrahman Abdulqader, Mohammed al-Kubaisi, Ali Irshad and Sarah Masoud, who will compete in shot put and wheelchair racing events.The team recently completed a closed training camp in Poland as part of its final preparations. Abdulqader and Masoud are Paralympic medalists, while al-Kubaisi and Irshad have earned regional and continental honors.Al-Dosari underlined the importance of the championships, describing them as the most prominent global event ahead of the Paralympic Games, and a platform for athletes to showcase their determination and talent. He expressed confidence in the Qatari team’s ability to deliver strong performances and continue building on their track record of success.

There must be something special about the Japanese air for American sprinters as Noah Lyles and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden swept the 200 metres world titles in Tokyo, emulating Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix in Osaka 18 years ago. Rai Benjamin's win in the men's 400m hurdles – adding the world title to the Olympic gold he won last year – made it a special night for track and field powerhouse United States.Lyles had to battle to get his head in front, but the showman with the dyed-blond locks managed it handsomely and secured a fourth successive 200m crown to emulate Usain Bolt. For the 28-year-old, who raised his arms to the heavens and then let out a mighty roar when his name was announced before the start, his feelings were the polar opposite to how he felt after winning Olympic bronze in Tokyo in 2021."At that time I was depressed, but this time I am energised," said Lyles, who went over and hugged his mum Keisha Caine Bishop. "My face is blasted all over Tokyo. This is amazing and such a joyous moment I am going to keep with me forever."In contrast 100m champion Jefferson-Wooden coasted to victory, becoming the first double champion since another Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Moscow in 2013. "I am now looking forward to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics," the 24-year-old said. "I definitely put a target on my back."The women's 400m hurdles race lacked the drama of the men's – it was already without its superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who had instead swept to an imperious victory in the flat 400m on Thursday – with Femke Bol of the Netherlands retaining the title. Bol can only beat what is in front of her and she did that with aplomb as the Dutchwoman blazed home in 51.54sec, ahead of American Jasmine Jones and Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova. "This means the world to me," said the 25-year-old. "At these world championships I had to keep my title. I am proud of myself and my team for doing it."Bol admitted that Olympic champion and world record holder McLaughlin-Levrone probably would have beaten her. The race was notable for the absence of McLaughlin-Levrone, who chose not to compete in the hurdles in the Japanese capital so she could concentrate on the 400m flat race."I most likely wouldn't be here with the gold medal but I really love to race her," said Bol. "She's the best athlete to ever do it in my event so I would have loved to do it, but I also love to see her do so well in the 400 metres."Bol's win marked the end of another successful season after completing an incredible sixth Diamond League campaign unbeaten. But she has not fared as well in her infrequent match-ups with McLaughlin-Levrone, who beat her into third place on the way to gold at last year's Paris Olympics. Bol's first world title, in Budapest two years ago, also came without having to beat McLaughlin-Levrone, who missed the competition through injury.McLaughlin-Levrone hinted on Thursday that she could attempt a remarkable 400m hurdles-flat double at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Bol said she would "love to see her do both". "If she feels physically ready for that, that would be amazing to see because I think if someone could pull it off, it would be her," she said.If anything the most drama occurred in a sandpit involving a hop, skip and a jump – the men's triple jump final. Italy's Andrea Dallavalle livened up a competition that had not really caught fire by snatching the lead with his sixth and final effort – a personal best of 17.64 metres.However, Portugal's long-time leader Pedro Pichardo reacted in the best possible way and with the last jump of the final, 17.91m, he regained the lead and won gold -- in the same stadium where he won the Olympic title four years ago.Four years ago Norway were on a crest of an Olympic wave in track and field as Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen won gold. Warholm broke the 400m hurdles world record that scorching hot day in Tokyo, and his celebration was one of the iconic moments of those Games.On Friday he was far from his best, hitting the third hurdle, and slumped to the ground at the finish, putting his hand to his face. Ingebrigtsen won the 1,500m Olympic title in 2021, but only sneaked into 5,000m final by the skin of his teeth."I am not myself," he said. "I don't have any idea what I am going to do in the final. I will try my best. Can it be a medal for Norway? I don't know, maybe. We will see."

Qatar's Abderrahman Samba won bronze in the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Friday. He clocked 47.06 seconds to finish behind USA's Rai Benjamin, who added world gold to his Olympic crown in Paris last year.**media[358722]**Brazil's Alison Dos Santos added silver to the gold he gained in 2022. Samba returned to the world podium for the first time since Doha in 2019, when he also claimed bronze.Benjamin managed to maintain his momentum, despite knocking down the final barrier, and dipped to victory in 46.52 secs to hold off dos Santos, who clocked 46.84 secs. Dos Santos and Samba both passed defending champion Karsten Warholm of Norway in the closing stages, as did Ezekiel Nathaniel, who clocked a Nigerian record of 47.11 to pip him into fifth place and move to 10th on the world all-time list.

The beauty of sport is its ability to surprise and Isaac Nader produced one of the biggest ever in international 1,500 metres finals as he won the world title Wednesday while Katie Moon was a more predictable winner of a third successive pole vault crown.Portugal had never had a medallist in the 1,500m but Nader's storming run in the home straight was enough for the 24-year-old to deny Jake Wightman of Britain a second title. "Some people criticised me and said I would never achieve this but here I am – world champion and the first Portuguese athlete to win a global gold in the 1,500m," said a beaming Nader.While Wightman celebrated his silver after an injury-plagued three years since he won the title in 2022, there was misery for reigning champion Josh Kerr after the Briton was left hopping along midway through the race, apparently with an injury.Even at 34, Moon is pretty much unbeatable in an event that has failed to match the heights of the men's event in which Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis broke the world record for the 14th time in Tokyo. Moon triumphed with a best vault of 4.90 metres, a considerable 16 centimetres shy of the world record set by Yelena Isinbayeva 16 years ago."It feels fun watching girls getting in shape in real life," said Moon. "I am 34 now and I have seen several athletes come in young and blossom. All my medals are special but this one is the one. The older you get, it gets harder."The men's long jump went to Italian Mattia Furlani, 20, who confirmed his Olympic bronze last year was no fluke with a winning effort of 8.39m. Defending champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece was totally out of sorts and finished 11th.One lesson to be learned is beware Kenyan women distance athletes called Faith. Faith Kipyegon romped to the 1500m title on Tuesday and Wednesday it was the turn of Faith Cherotich to triumph in the 3,000m steeplechase.Femke Bol has had the misfortune to compete in the 400m hurdes at a time when the phenomenon that is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been around.McLaughlin-Levrone, though, has turned her attention to the 400m flat and is favourite to add that world title to her tally Thursday.Bol, three times a minor medallist behind the American, can take advantage of her absence to retain her world crown, just as she did in the 2023 championships. Bol had far too much pace in her semi-final for former Olympic and world champion Dalilah Muhammad, who at 35 is 10 years older than the Dutchwoman.The climax to the men's event is a rematch of the three medallists from the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo. Karsten Warholm, who set a memorable world record on that scorching day, takes on runner-up Rai Benjamin, who avenged that defeat in winning Olympic gold in Paris last year, with bronze medallist, 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos, completing the trio.The stage is set for perhaps the most keenly awaited clash in the field events, the men's javelin final Thursday, between Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and the man he deposed in Paris last year India's Neeraj Chopra. However, the script came close to being torn up by Nadeem until he saved face in qualifying with his third and final throw.Chopra feels right at home in the stadium where he won Olympic gold four years ago, albeit with empty stands owing to Covid restrictions. "That Olympic gold medal changed everything for me," he said. "After winning it, I started to believe in myself."Nadeem may have pulled it out of the fire but it was not the case for another Olympic champion, Spanish triple jumper Jordan Diaz. The 24-year-old's dream of a full house of titles, he is also European champion, ended, as he pulled up with a quadriceps injury in qualifying.All the favourites in the men's and women's 200m – in which Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is bidding to become the first to achieve the individual sprint double since Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013 – eased into semi-finals.Joining them is 17-year-old Australian Gout Gout, of whom great things are expected. The Australia-born son of South Sudanese parents took his first experience of a global championships in his long stride. "It's a great experience for me, running against the big dogs," said Gout. After the action was followed by big crowds early in the champions, Wednesday's action attracted just shy of 36,000, leaving thousands of empty seats.