Saudi Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi Wins Gold at 2024 Para Athletics Championships in Japan

Al-Qurashi qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after winning the silver medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in the French capital - SPA
Al-Qurashi qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after winning the silver medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in the French capital - SPA
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Saudi Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi Wins Gold at 2024 Para Athletics Championships in Japan

Al-Qurashi qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after winning the silver medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in the French capital - SPA
Al-Qurashi qualified for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after winning the silver medal at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in the French capital - SPA

Saudi Paralympic champion Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi clinched the gold medal at the Kobe 2024 World Para Athletics Championships, held in the Japanese city of Kobe until May 27, SPA reported.

The Kobe 2024 games, serving as qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, brought together over 1,000 male and female athletes representing 145 countries.
Al-Qurashi claimed the gold medal in the T53 wheelchair 100m race, crossing the finish line with an impressive time of 14.86 seconds. He was followed by Brazilian athlete Fernandes da Silva, who secured the silver medal with a time of 15.05 seconds, while Tunisian athlete Mohamed Nidhal Khelifi took home the bronze, completing the race in 15.23 seconds.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.