Abderrahman Samba

Abderrahman Samba is a Qatari 400 metres hurdles specialist born on 5 September 1995. Raised in Saudi Arabia, he initially represented Mauritania before switching allegiance to Qatar in 2015, becoming eligible to compete for his adopted country in May 2016. He became the second person in history to break the 47-second barrier in the 400m hurdles.

Samba burst onto the international scene in 2017, winning the 400m hurdles at the Qatar Diamond League leg and defeating Olympic champion Kerron Clement, before placing seventh at the World Championships on his global debut. In 2018, he ran 46.98 seconds at the Meeting de Paris, the second fastest time ever recorded in the event. That same year, he won two gold medals at the Asian Games in the 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay, as well as a 4x400m relay gold at the Asian Indoor Championships.

In 2019, Samba claimed the Asian Athletics Championships title in the 400m hurdles and, after battling injury through the summer, earned a bronze medal at the World Athletics Championships. He was named the best athlete in Asia at the end of that year.