Abderrahman Almoubarrake Samba Alsaleck (born 5 September 1995) is a Qatari male

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specialises in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1984 for women. On a standard outdoor track, 400 metres is the length of the inside lane, once a ...

. He was born and grew up in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

but chose to represent

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

– his father's homeland – before eventually switching allegiance to

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and moving to Doha in 2015. He became eligible to compete for his adopted country in May 2016. He was the second person to run the 400m hurdle event in less than 47 seconds. Samba placed seventh at the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japane ...

on his global debut. He appeared suddenly on the elite athletics scene, having run modest

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

times in 2016 before winning the 400 m hurdles race at the Qatar leg of the

2017 IAAF Diamond League The 2017 Diamond League was the eighth season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It is the first to feature the new championship-style system in wh ...

, beating Olympic champion

Kerron Clement Kerron Stephon Clement (born October 31, 1985) is a Trinidadian-born American track and field athlete who competes in the 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter sprint. He held the indoor world record in the 400-meter sprint, having broken Michael Jo ...

. He ranked eighth in the world that season with his new personal best of 48.31 seconds. In February 2018, he won a

4 × 400 metres relay The 4 × 400 metres relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams consist of four runners who each complete 400 metres or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, th ...

gold medal with a Qatari team of Mohamed Nasir Abbas,

Mohamed El Nour Muhammad was an Islamic prophet and a religious and political leader who preached and established Islam. Muhammad and variations may also refer to: *Muhammad (name), a given name and surname, and list of people with the name and its variations ...

and

Abdalelah Haroun Abdalelah Haroun Hassan ( ar, عبد الإله هارون; 1 January 1997 – 26 June 2021) was a Qatari track and field sprinter. He specialised in the 400 metres. He was the 2015 Asian champion in the event and holds the Asian indoor rec ...

at the

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The Asian Indoor Athletics Championships were held for the first time in 2004 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, 2004. Run by the Asian Athletics Association, the championships take place biennially in different cities all over Asia.

. Then, in the Summer season, he ran the 400 m hurdles in 46.98, the second fastest time ever, at the Meeting de Paris. and won two gold medal at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

in Indonesia in

and

. In April 2019, he won the gold medal in the

2019 Asian Athletics Championships The 2019 Asian Athletics Championships was the 23rd edition of the Asian Athletics Championships. It was held from 21 to 24 April 2019 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar. During the closing ceremony of the 22nd Asian Athletics Cham ...

in 400 hurdles and, after being injured through Summer, in October the bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships. He was elected best athlete in Asia at the end of the year.

International competitions

Personal bests

All information from IAAF profile. Last updated 8 March 2019

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samba, Abderrahman 1995 births Living people Qatari male hurdlers Qatari male sprinters Asian Games gold medalists for Qatar Asian Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Qatar World Athletics Championships medalists IAAF Continental Cup winners Asian Athletics Championships winners Asian Indoor Athletics Championships winners Mauritanian emigrants to Qatar Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Qatar