Sudanese-born Qatari quartermiler Abdalelah Haroun made the most of World U-20 leader Baboloki Thebe’s absence in the final of the men’s 400m, powering to victory in a Season’s Best (SB) of 44.81s on Day 4 of the IAAF World U-20 Junior Championships.
Here’s what he has to say after his victory:
Following Karabo Sibanda’s impressive run in the semis, the 18-year old was expected to race for GOLD in the final, especially with teammate and tournament favourite Thebe being disqualified for a lane violation in the semis on Thursday.
However Haroun proved too strong for Sibanda who eventually lost the lead with about 20m to go, finishing in 3rd behind USA’s Wilbert London III who took the Silver medal in a Personal Best (PB) of 45.27s. Sibanda returned a time of 45.45s, as Kenya’s Geoffrey Kiprotich placed 4th in 45.64s.
Botswana would seek for redemption in the 4x400m which comes up on Saturday, following their impressive run at the African Senior Championships where the team struck GOLD with a youthful team in Durban.
Earlier this year, Haroun became the first man in history to run the 500m below 60s, clocking a time of 59.83s to win his heat in a World Lead (WL) at the Globen Galan Indoor meeting in Stockholm.
