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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.

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.

Qatar's Ismail Abakar and Abderrahman Samba stormed into the final of the men’s 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo Wednesday.The 21-year-old Abakar clocked a personal best of 47.61 seconds to finish second in his semi-final behind Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel, who won in 47.47. Asian champion Samba also impressed, producing a season’s best of 47.63 to edge Olympic champion Karsten Warholm (47.72) at the line, after the Norwegian too the foot of the gas.There was heartbreak for another Qatari hurdler Bassem Hemeida, who despite setting a personal best of 48.29 narrowly missed the final as Olympic champion Rai Benjamin comfortably won in 47.95, ahead of Brazil’s Alison dos Santos (48.16). Germany’s Emil Agyekum (47.83) and USA’s Caleb Dean (47.85) also progressed. Samba will be looking to repeat or better his third-place finish at the World Championships 2019 in Doha.Later, Benjamin said he was ready for another "historic" tussle with great rivals Warholm and dos Santos after all three cruised into the final. The trio have dominated the event in recent years, pushing each other to ever greater times and sharing out the global accolades between them.Benjamin prevailed when the trio met at the Paris Olympics last year and he is hoping for another classic tussle in tomorrow's final. "I think it's going to be really fast," said the 28-year-old. "I hope it's historic and I hope I'm on the right side of history this time. Coming out here, you can never be on the wrong side of history."Warholm finished second in his semi-final behind Samba but the Norwegian said it was all part of his strategy. "He could get a first place if he wanted to because honestly I don't care," said Warholm. "I can have an outside lane in the final, it'll be fun."Warholm is coming into the competition in fine form, clocking a time of 46.28sec at the Silesia Diamond League in Poland last month. It was the third fastest time ever run over the distance, topped only by his own world record of 45.94sec and Benjamin's 46.19sec.The Norwegian said he "chilled" for the second half of the semi-final but he would be ready when it counted. "I feel confident of course, being on this track," he said. "But you know, out there you have Dos Santos, you have Rai Benjamin, really good runners, hard workers, and they can challenge."

Qatar's Abderrahman Samba, Ismail Dawood and Bassem Hemeida all qualified for the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles race at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo Monday.Samba, who bronze in the 2019 worlds in Doha, came in first place in the first heat, recording the best time across the five heats with 48.03 seconds. Dawood followed with a time of 48.34 seconds, while Hemeida clocked 48.43 seconds to secure his place in the next round.The trio will compete in the semi-finals Tuesday in three different races, seeking to qualify for the final. Meanwhile, Seif Mohammed set a new national record with a 5.75m leap, finishing ninth in the Pole Vault final.

The men’s 400m hurdles is set for another historic showdown in Tokyo, where the three fastest in history — Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos — renew their rivalry with the world record always under threat. Joining them is Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, the Asian record-holder and 2019 world bronze medallist, who has returned to form this season and could disrupt the established trio’s dominance. Samba, who has constantly struggled with injuries, has clocked 47.09 at the Paris Diamond League meeting to finish second behind Benjamin. His personal best is the Asian record of 46.98 he ran in Paris in 2018. But its Warholm, Benjamin and dos Santos who have built a rivalry that has taken their event into a new era. Norway's Warholm is the world record-holder with 45.94 from the Tokyo Olympics, USA's Benjamin was second in that Olympic final in 46.17 and claimed the Olympic crown in Paris, while Brazil's Dos Santos ran a championship record of 46.29 when winning the 2022 world title in Oregon. It has been like this for years. Now they return to Tokyo, four years on from that magnificent Olympic clash in an empty stadium due to the pandemic. They are ready to put on another show, this time with a crowd to watch. Warholm arrives in Tokyo with the world-leading time. He clocked the third-fastest time in history – 46.28 – at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia, just weeks before the World Championships. It is a time that only he and Benjamin have ever beaten. “Hungry for more,” Warholm wrote on social media, sharing a picture of him beside his result on the clock. After that he ran 46.70 to win his third Diamond League title in Zurich. Benjamin’s best this season is 46.54, achieved when winning at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm ahead of Dos Santos and Warholm, while Dos Santos has a season’s best of 46.65, set when winning at the Diamond League event in Eugene ahead of Benjamin. The trio four years ago presented the fastest final in 400m hurdles history, when all three of them went under 46.78 – the time by Kevin Young that had stood as the world record for almost 29 years until Warholm first broke it in Oslo. Since the Warholm coronation in Tokyo, they have been changing positions over time. Dos Santos got gold in 2022 at the World Championships in Oregon in 46.29, and the year after that Warholm won in Budapest with 46.89. At the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, another change: Benjamin dethroned Warholm to win gold. He is the only one among the trio, however, who is yet to claim a world 400m hurdles title. "Everyday breaking records, I guess things are just happening fast,” wrote Benjamin after winning the US title, his final race ahead of Tokyo, while Dos Santos shared photos from his final training sessions to the sounds of a Brazilian rapper named Djonga who sings: "I am not afraid, I am hungry.” Africa is also represented, as Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel ran a national record of 47.31 to finish between Warholm and Samba in Silesia, while Benjamin’s US team-mates Caleb Dean and Chris Robinson have both run 47.76 this year.