Samba Targets Medal After Reaching Semis

8/5/2024 11:01:00 PM

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar's Abderrahman Samba qualified for the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympic Games yesterday. At the Stade de France stadium, Samba came third running in Heat 2 alongside Norwegian world and Olympic record holder Karsten Warholm in a time of 48.35 seconds.

Warholm won the heat in an impressive 47.57 secs, while France's Clement Ducos was second in 47.69 ahead of Samba. Both Warholm and Ducos are considered strong contenders for the medals, alongside Brazil's Alison Santos and America's Rai Benjamin. In the semis, Samba – who has struggled with injuries in recent times – will have to be at his best if he has to progress into the final.

Samba made his return from the recent lay-off at the Stockholm Diamond League in June clocking 49.69 secs. But he showed improvement winning the Meeting Madrid with a time of 47.97. In July, he clocked 48.27 at Monaco Diamond League.

The two-time Asian Games champion and 2019 World Championships bronze medallists though was confident of not just qualifying for the final but also winning a medal. Samba had finished fifth in Tokyo Olympics.“I'm happy with this result. Good preparation for the semi-final is crucial to achieve my goal of winning a medal. The semi-final race will be more challenging. I hope for success in the semi-final and to achieve the best time to get one step closer to the desired goal,” the 28-year-old said.

Meanwhile, another Qatari runner Bassem Hemeida will have to win his repechage round today to qualify for the 400m hurdles. Hemeida finished fifth in Heat 1 yesterday with a season best time of 49.82 seconds but that was not enough for automatic qualification.

The semi-final round includes 24 runners divided into 3 groups, with the first and second place finishers qualifying for the final. There is another opportunity through repechage for runners to compete for qualification to the semi-finals.

Ammar Ismail too qualified for the 400m semi-final yesterday after he won his repechage race in a time of 44.47 seconds. Ismail said his aim is to qualify for the final. My goal is to continue working hard to qualify for the final. The competition was not easy and will be even more challenging in the semi-finals, but entering the race in the best mental state is essential to achieve the best result and reach the final.”

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