Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba qualified 400m hurdles final at the Paris Olympics after a valiant effort on Wednesday. Samba, who finished fifth at the Tokyo Games three years ago, clocked 48.20 secs to finish third in semi-final 2 at Stade de France. With Kyron McMaster (48.15 secs) of the British Virgin Islands and Estonian Rasmus Magi (48.16 secs) advancing with a one-two finish, Samba entered the eight-man final as one of the two fastest athletes failing to secure the direct qualification.
Defending champion Karsten Warholm safely progressed to the final after winning his semi-final. Warholm, who set the world record when winning gold at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games, clocked 47.67 secs in front of a 69,000-capacity crowd.
The three-time world champion will be joined by unknown French hurdler Clement Ducos, currently based at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Ducos deprived Brazilian Alison Dos Santos of the second automatic qualifying spot in the first of the three semis. “I got the race that I wanted,” said Warholm. “I had control over the race. I saw Dos Santos got third - that is a bit surprising.”
American Rai Benjamin, perhaps Warholm’s main rival for the Olympic crown, won the third and final semi easily in 47.85sec ahead of Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke. Benjamin, who won silver behind Warholm in Tokyo, as well as two silvers and a bronze at the last three world championships, eased up 30 metres from the line. The final is slated for 8:45pm Qatar time on Friday.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s middle-distance runner Abubaker Haydar Abdalla will take part in repechage round today, hoping to qualify for the men’s 800m semi-final. During the heats on Wednesday, the two-time Asian champion failed to advance as he clocked 1:48.42 secs to finish seventh in his heat.
