Five Saudi runners record top-3 finishes in European competitions
Azzam Abu Bakr won the third heat of the 400m hurdles at the Flanders Cup VITA in Belgium to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics U-20 Championships
Updated 17 July 2022
Arab News
Five Saudi Arabian runners on Saturday recorded top-three finishes at two international meets in Belgium and Germany.
Azzam Abu Bakr stole the show by winning Heat 3 of the 400m hurdles at the Flanders Cup VITA meeting in Belgium, in a time of 52.99s, to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics U-20 Championships in Colombia from Aug. 1 to Aug. 7.
Yahya Walby finished second in the same race with a personal best of 53.40s. Teammate Bandar Majrashi made it a 1-2-3 finish for Saudi Arabia, coming in third with a time of 55.47s.
Also at the Flanders Cup VITA, Tarek Al-Omari won first place in the 5,000m race, recording a time of 13:46.81 minutes in his first appearance since returning from injury.
Meanwhile, Hassan Araour managed his second-best time of the season (48.17s) to claim first place in the 400m race in Germany, the Saudi Athletics Federation said on its official Twitter account.
Luis Enrique not rushing to recruit despite key PSG trio’s absence
Updated 5 sec ago
The trio will be out for several weeks after sustaining injuries in Tuesday’s bruising 2-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich “We are always open to transfer opportunities, but there’s no rush, no need to hurry,” Enrique said
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique insisted Saturday there was “no rush” to recruit during the winter transfer window despite injuries to key players Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, and Nuno Mendes. The trio will be out for several weeks after sustaining injuries in Tuesday’s bruising 2-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich. Ballon d’Or winner Dembele picked up a calf injury and needs a “few weeks” of treatment, the European champions said. Hakimi was diagnosed with a severely sprained left ankle and faces several weeks out too, while Mendes sprained his left knee. Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain are on the road at Lyon on Sunday. “We are always open to transfer opportunities, but there’s no rush, no need to hurry,” Luis Enrique told a pre-match press conference. The trio’s absence adds to a growing injury list that already included Desire Doue, who was stretchered off with a thigh problem in a Ligue 1 game at Lorient last week. “Everything has to be planned,” the coach continued. “There’s no problem, they’re injuries of course, but all teams have them. We’re calm and relaxed, not worried.” Focusing on the positives of this “very unusual” start to the season, Luis Enrique added: “Every difficulty offers opportunities to give playing time to (other) players.” South Korean winger Lee Kang-in could play his 100th match for PSG on Sunday. Meanwhile Lyon captain Corentin Tolisso is doubtful with a hamstring injury, coach Paulo Fonseca announced. “We’ll see if he can play, but I have my doubts,” Fonseca told a press conference. “It’s very risky to play him. I don’t want to lose him for the upcoming matches.” Attacking midfielder Pavel Sulc, Lyon’s top scorer, is also unavailable due to a hamstring injury. Champions PSG are two points ahead of Marseille at the top of the table with Lyon four points behind the leaders in sixth.
