UAE athlete Salma Haitham Al Marri achieved a significant milestone at the World Athletics U20 Championships, currently underway in Eugene, Oregon, by establishing a new national record in the women’s hammer throw. Al Marri recorded a distance of 58.96 metres, surpassing the previous national benchmark of 58.12 metres.
Rashid Naser Al Ali, a board member of the UAE Athletics Federation and head of the National Teams Committee, praised the performance, noting that Al Marri’s technical progression allowed her to compete effectively against top-tier international talent. During the qualifiers, she secured 13th place out of 22 competitors, finishing ahead of athletes from countries with strong traditions in throwing events, such as Poland, Denmark, and Spain. She narrowly missed a spot in the final by just one position.
Al Ali highlighted the rapid growth in Al Marri’s career, noting that she previously set a national record of 49.02 metres in Slovenia last year, which had eclipsed the prior mark of 44.60 metres across youth, junior, and senior levels. Given that she remains in the junior category, officials view her current performance as a strong indicator of her future potential to challenge for top global honors.
The UAE team also saw success from sprinter Suleiman Abdul Rahman, who advanced to the 400-metre semifinals. Rahman initially finished third in his qualifying heat with a time of 46.68 seconds. He improved his performance in the semifinals, clocking 46.27 seconds to finish fourth in his heat, though he ultimately fell short of qualifying for the final round.
Reflecting on the team’s overall performance, Al Ali stated that these results against elite international competition validate the UAE Athletics Federation’s current strategy. He emphasized that the progress shown by both Al Marri and Rahman serves as a positive indicator for the development of a new generation of Emirati athletes.
UAE athlete Salma Haitham Al Marri successfully broke the national record in the women’s hammer throw, previously standing at 58.12 metres, recording 58.96 metres during the qualifiers of the World Athletics U20 Champion
He added that Al Marri finished the qualifiers in 13th place worldwide among 22 athletes, outperforming athletes from national teams with a prominent presence in throwing events, including Poland, Denmark, and Spain, fin
Comments