Can Abu Drais break record to complete Kingdom’s golden Games?

AMMAN — Following the incredible wave of national celebration for Ahmad Abu Ghaush’s historic taekwondo gold medal, Mithqal Abu Drais will be looking to make a mark of his own on what has been a glorious Olympic Games for Jordan, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Two new national records in the pool, a boxing quarter-final and first time participants in triathlon and judo are the green shoots of progress that Jordan was looking for. But Abu Ghaush’s golden run in the -68kg competition sent the celebrations off the scale.

The focus will now turn to Abu Drais who is competing in his second consecutive Olympics and hoping to set a new Jordanian record on the final day of the Rio Games.

The 32-year old ran a qualifying marathon time of two hours 17 minutes and 24 seconds in Morocco last year, a Jordan record that he says is up there with his victory at the Stockholm Marathon in 2012 as his best achievements.

“Just to be here once again is a huge achievement for me and one that I will make the most of on Sunday,” said Abu Drais. “My teammates have made this a very special Olympics for Jordan, especially Ahmad with his gold medal, so I hope I can come close to my record to make it a memorable ending for us.

“I have been receiving a lot of support from home. The messages have made me feel that people are right here with me cheering me on. I have had a good build-up without any injury so I am looking forward to racing.”

The men’s marathon gets under way at 3:30pm, Jordanian time, with the winning time expected to be a little over two hours.