JEDDAH, 30 August 2007 — Ahmed Al-Marzoug and Hussain Al-Sabaa kept the Kingdom hopes alive for a medal by both qualifying for the men’s long jump final in the 11th World Athletics Championship in Osaka, Japan.
The 15th Asian Games champion Al-Sabaa qualified with a jump of 8.01 meters to place sixth in Group A .
Al-Marzoug came third in Group B with a leap of 8.12 meters.
A third long jumper on the Saudi team, Mohammed Al-Khuwalidi, failed to advance past the qualifying with an attempt of 7.85, well below his winning jump of 8.18 in the 17th Asian Athletics Championship held in Amman, Jordan.
”I was not technically fit and missing the first start added loads of pressure on me. I missed it but I believe my teammates would be able to do it,” Al-Khuwalidi told the press.
Except for Mohammad Al-Salihi everyone on the 10-team Saudi team entered competitions in their respective disciplines. Al-Salihi sees action in the heats today of the men’s 800 meters.
Elsewhere, the Saudi campaign ended with failings in the elimination rounds in four events. Distance runner Mohammed Shaween managed to reach the men’s 1,500 meters semifinal in 3:41.58 minutes. He was even slower in the last stage leading up to the final, clocking 3:44.54
Yahya Habeeb failed to advance past the qualifying heat in the men’s 100 meters with a time of 10.65 seconds. Ali Al-Amri did not finish the race in the 3,000 meters, while Sultan Al-Hibshi failed to progress into the final of the men’s shot put, where he threw the iron ball to a distance of 19.20 meters in Group A qualifying round.
