Al Hammadi wins fourth medal for UAE at World Para Athletics Championships

Mohammed Al Hammadi took second place in the wheelchair 200-metre T34 category to take his medal’s tally to three silver and a bronze in the four events he took part at the World Para Athletics Championship in London on Friday.

It was a creditable performance from the Emirati behind the Tunisian Walid Ktila who racked up his fourth gold, repeating his remarkable feat of two years ago at the Doha 2015 World Championship.

Ktila rounded off his victories in the 100m, 400m and 800m T34 with another splendid performance in the 200m by powering out the blocks to win with a new championship record of 27.14 seconds.

“It's a great win because the conditions were difficult today,” the multiple world champion said. “There was a strong wind. The final stage of the race was very tough. I think my speed at the end was very important.”

Al Hammadi had to play second fiddle behind Ktila, finishing runner up behind his formidable opponent in the 400m, 800m and 200m, after taking bronze in the 100m on the second day of the competition.

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“Walid was really outstanding in this championships,” said Al Hammadi who got the better of the Tunisian to win gold at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

“I’m fairly satisfied with my own performance. All these medals will be presented to the children of Abdullah [Hayayei, his teammate who died in a training incident just before the start of the championship in London].”

The World Para Athletics Championships will conclude after the action on Sunday. The championship has drawn 1,150 athletes from 90 countries vying for 202 medal events.