Tokyo: Qatar national team advanced to the final of the 4x400m relay for the first time in its history after finishing second in the heats held today, Saturday, at the 20th edition of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The Qatari quartet - Abderrahman Samba, Yahya Ibrahim, Bassem Hemeida, and Ismail Dawood - clocked a time of 3:00.15 minutes to take second place behind South Africa, which topped the group with a time of 2:58.81 minutes.

According to Qatar News Agency, also qualifying from the same group was the Netherlands, which posted its season's best of 3:00.23 minutes. In a surprising result, the US team failed to advance after finishing sixth. Qatar's Abderrahman Samba expressed his delight at contributing to the team's qualification for the final. He said the team ran as one unit and succeeded in achieving the target of reaching the final.

He added that this was the first participation in the World Championships in the 4x400m relay, so ensuring qualification was a priority. The race plan focused on conserving energy as much as possible in order to deliver the strongest performance in the final. Samba pointed out that the final would be highly competitive but stressed that Qatar team is determined to fight for a medal and a place on the podium despite the tough field.

Samba won the bronze medal yesterday in the 400m hurdles at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo 2025.