Qatari Abdalelah Haroun, 2017 world bronze medallist, dies at 24

The 2017 athletics 400m world bronze medallist Abdalelah Haroun has died aged 24, the Qatar Olympic Committee announced on social media on Saturday (26 June).

Haroun was involved in a car accident in the Qatari capital Doha, according to Qatar Athletics Federation chairman Mohammed Issa al-Fadala in quotes reported by the BBC.

"Qatar sports and athletics, on a global level, lost a great hero," he said.

The Sudanese-born Haroun qualified to compete for Qatar in 2015 and became world junior champion over 400m in 2016. He also reached the semi-finals at Rio 2016, and won world indoor silver the same year.

It was at the World Championships in London in 2017 when he achieved his biggest global accomplishment, finishing third behind Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa and Bahamian Steven Gardiner.

He also won two gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games, taking the 400m and 4x400m relay titles in Jakarta, Indonesia.

However, injuries had set Haroun back and he did not qualify from the heats at the 2019 World Championships on home soil in Doha.

He had been in the middle of recuperation ahead of this summer's delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.

Haroun's last registered race result was a 47.22 as an invited runner at the Turkish Championships in September 2020.