UAE sprinter Mohamed Hammadi was happy with his medalling efforts in the T34 200m competition but admits he was gutted for not winning the gold.
The 27-year-old from Sharjah finished second behind Tunisia’s Walid Ktila, clocking a seasonal best of 28.95s, but saw the world record he had set earlier in the heats get smashed by the North African minutes later in the following heat.
Hammadi, who trains at the Thiqa Club in Sharjah, had won two gold medals and one silver atthe IPC World Athletics Championship last year, and while he’s proud of his achievement in London, he concedes he really dreamt of landing on top of the podium.
“Thank God for everything of course, but it’s not the timing nor the medal I wanted – I wanted gold,” Hammadi told Sport360°.
“But still I realise I managed to do something no one else has managed to do and I dedicate this medal to our Sheikhs and rulers who have helped us so much.
"This kind of success is not strange for us, we have better within us and can do even more. I’ve managed to raise the Emirati flag at the Paralympics and I’m very proud of that.”
Hammadi explained he has been putting in five hours of training per day, all week to prepare for the Games and was glad to add a Paralympic medal to his accolades from the World Championships.
He now has his eyes set on reclaiming the world record. “I’ve put in the work and I’m so happy it’s paid off. Training for the Paralympics is harder than any training you normally do for other events,” he said.
“This medal brings us Emiratis lots of pride. We are all one big family. Whether as Olympians or Paralympians, this is a UAE achievement and I dedicate it to all our athletes.
“My next goal is to break the world record. It used to be mine for a whole year. This is my goal in Brazil 2016. I won’t be talking about gold or about medals, I want nothing less than a world record.”
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