From left: Qatar's Ammar Ismail, Youssef Abdulaziz, Bassem Hmeida and Ashraf Othman celebrate after qualifying for the World Athletics Championships. (AFP)
Doha, Qatar: The Qatar national men’s 4x400m relay team marked a major step forward after they sealed qualification for the World Athletics Championships - Beijing 2027 with a record-breaking run in Gaborone, Botswana.
Competing in the third heat of the opening qualifying round at the World Athletics Relays, the team clocked 2:59.83 to set a new national record and secure a berth in the World Championships, set to be held in Beijing in September next year.
Their sub-three-minute finish also matched race winners Belgium’s season-best winning time in a tightly contested race.
The quartet of Amar Ismail, Basem Hmeida, Youssef Abdulaziz and Ashraf Othman produced a composed and fast execution across all four legs, finishing just ahead of Spain, who also impressed with a national record of 3:00.26.
In yesterday’s final, hosts Botswana, the reigning world champions, delivered a dominant display to win the gold medal in a championship record time of 2:54.47, while South Africa followed with a national record of 2:55.07. Australia secured bronze with an area record of 2:55.20.
Qatar crossed the line in seventh place but were later disqualified due to a lane infringement, ruling them out of the final classification.
Qatar Athletics Federation President Mohammed Issa Al Fadala hailed the team’s impressive performance, highlighting that qualifying from the first round while setting a new national record reflects a clear step forward in the team’s technical level.
Al Fadala also stressed that this result shows how far the squad has progressed in preparation and execution, adding that this confirms the Qatar athletes can challenge the world’s best at the highest stage.
Beijing will mark Qatar’s 4x400m relay team’s third appearance at the World Athletics Championships, having competed on two previous occasions and endured with mixed results.
At the 2019 World Athletics Championships on home soil, the team competed did not progress beyond the heats. However, at the 2025 Worlds in Tokyo, Qatar reached the final for the first time, setting a new national record in the heats to underline their growing strength in the event.
