Algerian runner duo targeting 800m gold at 2022 World Athletics Championships

Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati and Slimane Moula have qualified for the final of the men’s 800-meter race at the 2022 World Athletics Championships taking place in the US on Saturday.

The two runners will line up in a field of eight at Saturday’s final after both finished first in their heats at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Thursday.

Sedjati crossed the line first in heat 2 with a time of one minute, 45.44 seconds. France’s Gabriel Tual and Great Britain’s Daniel Rowden finished second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, Moula won the third semifinal heat with a time of 1:44.89, with Canada’s Marco Arop and Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi in second and third, respectively.

Six Arab runners had qualified for the semifinals of the 800m competition.

Sedjati and Moula had been joined by Morocco’s Moad Zahafi, Elhassane Moujahid and Abdelati El-Guesse, as well as Tunisia’s Abdessalem Ayouni, after all successfully completed their preliminary heats.

Zahafi had come first in Heat 3, Sedjati in Heat 4, and Moula in Heat 6, while Moujahid came second in Heat 1. Both Ayouni and El-Guesse came third in the 4th and 6th heats, respectively.