Qatar’s Mutaz qualifies in high jump

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim qualified for the finals in the men’s high jump to boost Qatar’s hopes of winning athletics medal to go with Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah’s shooting bronze. Barshim who jumped 2.26m finished in third spot in a field of 14 to qualify for Thursday’s final.American Erik Kynard (2.29) and Canada’s Derek Drouin (2.29) finished first and second respectively. Barshim will be hoping to maintain his form on Thursday to be able to finish in the top 3. Qatari long distance runners Hamza Driouch and Mohamad al-Garni, however failed to reach the final of the men’s 1500m after finishing their respective semifinal races at the back of the contesting fields. In the first semifinal, Driouch - who remained in contention until the last 200m - bumped into fellow runner Mekonnen Gebremedhin of Ethiopia and lost his balance and the lead that he had so impressively built in the first semifinal. Seventeen-year-old Driouch tried to catch up with the group but gave up the chase with a little over 100 meters to go. Algeria’s Taofik Makhloufi easily topped the field of 12 to qualify for the finals with a time of 3:24.24. Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop followed Makhloufi to grab the second berth with a time of 3:42.92. Gebremedhin crossed the finish line in third spot (3:42.93) while American runner Leonel Manzano was fourth fastest with 3:42.94. Norway’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen (3:43.26) grabbed the last qualifying spot from the first semifinal. “I am not happy with the last stretch of the race, I think the last 300 metres,” a furious Driouch said. “Someone pushed me. I lost my step and I fell. I hurt my right leg (points at his knee bleeding),” he added. “I am going to speak to my federation and have this incident investigated. I want this to be looked into. I am not happy at all to be missing the final,” he walked off. From: Gulf Times