Qatar's Olympic-Bound Abakar Secures Third Place In London

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Chinthana Wasala | The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: Qatar's Olympic-bound athlete Ismail Doudai Abakar yesterday delivered an outstanding performance in the men's 400m hurdles at the Diamond League meeting in London, significantly boosting Qatar's hopes in the one-lap event at the upcoming Paris Games.

Despite having the disadvantage of running in lane 8, Abakar smashed his personal best by nearly a second, clocking an impressive 47.72 seconds to secure an impressive third-place finish against a world-class field that included former world champion Alison dos Santos.

“That was a huge PB for me so I am very excited now for Paris. I knew I could do it and now I can go there and I really feel I can get to the final. To take this much off my PB puts me really in the right place for the Olympics,” Abakar, 20, said after the race.

Santos, the 2022 world champion and bronze medallist in Tokyo, stormed to victory with a time of 47.18 seconds, while Jamaica's Roshawn Clarke achieved a season-best best of 47.63 to finish second ahead of Abakar.

Qatar's Ismail Dawood Abakar (left) finishes in third place in the men's 400m hurdles event during the IAAF Diamond League meeting at the London Stadium. AFP

Behind Abakar, Kyron McMaster from the British Virgin Islands finished fourth with 47.81 seconds, while France's Wilfried Happio came fifth with 48.26 seconds. The field was rounded out by CJ Allen of the USA (48.49 seconds), Gerald Drummond of Costa Rica (48.89 seconds), and Great Britain's Alastair Chalmers (49.52).

Abakar, whose previous personal best was 48.68 seconds, achieved at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix 1 in Potchefstroom, South Africa, will be in action in the one-lap hurdles event along with Qatar's 2019 World Championships bronze winner Abderrahman Samba and Asian Games silver winner Bassem Hemeida at the Stade de France.

Barshim withdraws

Meanwhile, Qatar's Olympic hero Mutaz Barshim yesterday pulled out of the Diamond League meeting in the last minute citing technical issues.

“I didn't jump, unfortunately. I'm disappointed. There was no space; it was a technical mistake, I think, from the organization, and it was very tight. So, when I tried to set up my run-up to jump, it was impossible. There was no space to do it,” Barshim, who is aiming for an unrepresented fourth medal in the high jump at the Olympics, said yesterday.

“I've been jumping for about 15 years. This is only the second time in my career that something like this has happened. Of course, I'm frustrated, not only for myself but also for everyone who came out there to support me. I feel bad because I don't like letting people down. I'm not injured; I wanted to come here and perform at my best. But, as I said, things happen,” Barshim said.

“It's frustrating, but we move forward. We have the Olympics soon, so I'm looking forward to that,” Barshim, who boasts of the second-highest jump (2.43m) of all time, added.

In his absence, world indoor champion Hamish Kerr won the men's high jump in London yesterday with a 2.30-metre mark.

Barshim will compete in the high jump qualifying round on August 7 ahead of the August 10 final at the iconic Stade de France.

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