AlKass Digital
Doha, Qatar- Qatari hurdler Abderrahman Samba is in contention for the 2018 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year – that will be announced tonight in Monaco.
In June 2018, Samba stole the limelight with his 46.98 blitz in 400m hurdles at the IAAF Diamond League in Paris. The record not only surpassed legendary American track and field athlete Edwin Moses’s record of 47.02 second that was set in 1983, but made him the second person ever after world record holder Kevin Young (46.78 seconds set at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992) to break the ‘47 seconds’ barrier in one-lap hurdles.
Samba, who finished the Diamond League season unbeaten, also won a gold medal at the Asian Games in Indonesia with a record time.
In Jakarta, he ran a blistering 400m hurdles setting a new Games record of 47.66 seconds erasing the old time of 48.42 seconds. Later, he also helped Qatar bag the gold in the 4x400m relay in Jakarta.
Kenyan marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge and Swedish pole vault sensation Armand Duplantis are part of a five-man shortlist that was announced by the IAAF for the annual athletics awards in November this year.
If Samba wins the coveted award, it would be two-in-a-row for Qatar, as Mutaz Barshim won the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year in 2017.
The IAAF’s prestigious awards gala will take place tonight in Monaco as the world governing body for the sport honours the year’s best athletes whose achievements helped contribute to another unforgettable year for track and field.