Qatari middle-distance runner Abubaker Abdalla secures his third Olympic appearance after dominating the 800-meter race at the Spanish University Championships with a season’s best time of 1:44.60.

Qatari track running athlete, Abubaker Abdalla, will be making his third Olympic appearance this year, the Qatar Athletics Federation (QAF) reports.

The QAF announced the news on Sunday after Abdalla won first place during an 800-metre race at the Spanish University Championships.

The time of 1:44.60 secured him a 20-second edge ahead of runner-up José Pérez. This time also marks his season’s best.

The two-time Olympian received an outpour of support and congratulatory messages from fellow athletes, such as Qatari high-jumper Mutaz Barshim, as well as the wider Qatari community on social media – with one user saying they hope to see him on the Olympic podium.

In a post via X, Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, congratulated the middle-distance runner and wished him success ahead of the Olympic games.

Aged just 27 years old, Abdalla holds an impressive track record as a two-time Asian Athletics champion in the 800m discipline.

Abroad, he brought home the gold during the 2023 Bangkok Asian Athletics games. While on home soil, during the 2019 Qatar Asian Athletics, he dashed ahead of Kuwait’s Ebrahim Al Zofairi to keep the gold medal in Doha.

Despite not making it to the podium at Tokyo or Rio, Qatar is cheering him on to success in the upcoming Paris games.