27 Aug 2024
Two Aspire Academy student-athletes and two graduates will be part of the Qatar team at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Peru.
They are all part of the 11-man team named by the Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) to compete at the event in the Peruvian capital, Lima, from 27 to 31 August.
They are set to follow in the footsteps of Aspire Graduate and four-time Olympic medallist Mutaz Barshim, who won his first global medal at the 2010 championships when they were called the World Junior Championships.
Mutaz Barshim had some advice for the youngsters ahead of the event.
"Try to stay away from distractions and focus on yourself because it's a new stage; normally, when you are on your home ground, you know how to perform," he said.
"Once you go to the world stage, the biggest stage, there are a lot of distractions, whether it's cameras, whether it's the spectators, whether it's your competitors, and I know there's also the scouts."
"There are so many distractions that do not allow you to perform at your best or your normal level.
"I would say trying to stay in a bubble, treating everything as a distraction, and doing your job. As long as you focus on yourself and do your job, you're going to be fine."
He was also full of praise for the work being done at Aspire Academy.
"Remember, you are not only representing Qatar but also Aspire," he added.
"It's a huge success for Aspire Academy to produce such talent and send them to world and global championships over and over."
"It's not only in athletics. There are many other sports here in Qatar, too, and they've been able to prepare athletes to participate at the highest level. It's incredible."
Among those representing Qatar will be Mahamat Abakar Abdrahman, who begins grade 12 this year and will be making his second appearance at the World Under-20 Championships after competing as a 16-year-old in Colombia in 2022.
The 400m hurdler is coached by the QAF's Hennie Kotze and will be in action in the heats on Wednesday, 28 August.
Grade 12 student-athlete Seif Hemeida (Seifeldin Heneida Abdesalam) also has impressive under-20 results in 2024 in the pole vault, thanks to a leap of 5.55m at February's Asian Indoor Athletics Championships.
The clearance from the athlete coached by QAF's Pawel Szczyrba was not only a Qatari national senior record but also the joint-highest jump of 2024 globally for the under-20 category.
Seif Hemeida will be looking to win a medal to emulate his older brother, and Aspire graduate Bassem, who won a silver in the 400m hurdles at the 2018 championships in Finland.
2024 graduate Ibrahim Haydar Abdalla, coached by Aspire Academy's Charlie Grice and Ahmed Abdulla, will race in the 800m just weeks after his older brother Abubaker competed at his third Olympics.
Another 2024 graduate, Khalid Wadi Adoum, who is trained by QAF's Hennie Kotze, will race in the 400m and, alongside Mahamat Abakar Abdrahman, will be part of Qatar's 4x400m relay team.
Oumar Doudai Abakar, who is coached by Lee Christopher at Aspire Academy, is also returning for a second under-20 championships.
The 19-year-old will be among the favourites for his event, having run the fourth fastest time in the world by an under-20 athlete this year.
In addition to Mutaz Barshim's gold in 2010, several other Aspire Academy athletes have enjoyed success at the World Under-20 Championships.
Two years later, in Spain, another Aspire graduate, Ashraf Amgad Elseify, stood on the top of the podium as he won the hammer with a world under-20 record, which still stands 12 years later.
He retained that title at the 2014 championships in the USA, and then in 2016, Mohamed Ibrahim Mooaz won gold in the discus in Poland.