Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: Although Oman’s sprinter Barakat Al Harthi is out of the Rio games after failing to qualify for a place in the finals, he thanked supporters and promised to continue his efforts.
In a video message released in Arabic on twitter, Barakat is seen thanking his fans and supporters and saying he will continue working hard on his performance.
“I thank all my supporters and the coming days will be better. I thank all those who stood behind me, (they were) people who pushed me to perform.”
Earlier, Barakat, reacting after not being able to qualify for the Olympics, had told the Times of Oman, “I am not going into the semis, I am so sad.”
Barakat recorded 10.22 seconds and finished third in the heat six qualifying sprint in the Men’s 100m event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Although he put up an excellent show against the likes of Jamaica’s Yohan Blake, who finished first in the same heat with a time of 10.11, Barakat couldn’t qualify for the next stage of the competition.
In heat seven, Jamaica’s ace sprinter Usain Bolt finished first with a time of 10.07, whereas Justin Gatlin from the United States recorded a time of 10.01, finishing first in Heat 2.
While in Rio, Barakat also met with Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt among other sports personalities.
Barakat had been training for several months for the Rio Olympics and endured a rocky road to the event after his luggage went missing and his flights were delayed.
