The track and field athlete will compete in the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics.

Qatar’s Olympic-bound Ismail Dawood secured third place in the 400m hurdles at the London Diamond League meeting on Saturday ahead of his appearance at the Paris Olympics.

Beating his personal best of 48 seconds, Dawood clocked a time of 47.72 seconds to secure a third-place finish behind Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos, who claimed his fifth Diamond League win this season in six meetings.

“That was a huge PB [personal best] for me so I am very excited now for Paris,” Dawood said after the race.

“I knew I could do it, and now I can go there, and I really feel I can get to the final. To take this much off my PB puts me really in the right place for the Olympics,” he added.

Dawood came seconds behind Roshawn Clarke from Jamaica, who took second place in 47.63.

Kyron McMaster placed fourth with 47.81. 

In Paris, Dawood will compete alongside several Qatari track and field athletes, including Abderrahman Samba, Abubaker Haydar, Bassem Humeida, and Ammar Ismail.

Saif Mohammed and Shahad Mohammed also qualified for the list, with Mutaz Barshim leading the pack.

Barshim withdraws 

Barshim was meant to compete at the Diamond League on Saturday but pulled out at the last minute, citing technical issues.

“I didn’t jump, unfortunately. I’m disappointed. There was no space; it was a technical mistake, I think, from the organization, and it was very tight. So, when I tried to set up my run-up to jump, it was impossible. There was no space to do it,” Barshim was reported to say at yesterday’s meeting.

“It’s frustrating, but we move forward. We have the Olympics soon, so I’m looking forward to that,” Barshim added.

Earlier this month, Barshim revealed that the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will be his last appearance in the games, expressing pride in his numerous accolades, including Olympic and World Championship titles. 

Speaking to Africanews, the world champion who is set to compete in his fourth Olympics, said his goal is to retain his gold medal from Tokyo and set a high standard for future high jumpers to surpass.

“I want to create a legacy. When I retire, I want to look back and say, I’ve done the most that’s possible to be done,” Barshim told the media outlet. “I want my name to be mentioned whenever high jump is mentioned,” he added.

At 33 years-old, the Golden Falcon of Qatar has become a household name for locals and the rest of the world. 

Becoming the only high jump athlete to win five World Championship medals, Barshim has also nailed an Olympic gold and two silver medals in 2016 and 2012. 

In 2020, Barshim was applauded for his sportsmanship as he decided to share the gold medal with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi after both athletes continued to clear the same height of 2.37 meters for numerous runs. 

Celebrating together, draped in each other’s flags and joyously embracing on the track, Barshim has called the moment a purely emotional decision that reflected his respect and love for his competitor. 

However, Barshim has now pledged that he will not make the same gesture again if given the chance in Paris. 

“That won’t be repeated. We will battle until the very end,” he told Africanews. 

The Paris Olympics are set to kick off from July 26 to August 11.