UAE athlete Salma Haitham Al Marri has set a new national record in the women’s hammer throw, clearing 58.96 metres during the qualifying rounds of the World Athletics U20 Championships, known as Oregon 2026, currently taking place in Eugene, USA. Her performance surpassed the previous national benchmark of 58.12 metres.
Rashid Naser Al Ali, a member of the UAE Athletics Federation’s Board of Directors and head of the National Teams Committee, praised Al Marri’s competitive spirit against a global field. She finished 13th out of 22 participants, notably outperforming competitors from nations with strong traditions in throwing events, such as Poland, Denmark, and Spain. She missed a spot in the final by only a single position.
Al Ali highlighted the athlete’s rapid progression, noting that her latest mark is a significant jump from the 49.02 metres she recorded in Slovenia last year. That previous effort had already shattered the existing national record of 44.60 metres across youth, junior, and senior levels. Given that she remains in the junior category, Al Ali emphasized that her performance in Oregon serves as a strong indicator of her future potential and room for continued growth on the international stage.
In the same competition, sprinter Suleiman Abdul Rahman also showcased his talent by qualifying for the 400-metre semifinals. He initially finished third in his qualifying heat with a time of 46.68 seconds. He improved his performance in the semifinals to 46.27 seconds, finishing fourth in his heat but narrowly missing a place in the final. Al Ali concluded that these results demonstrate that the Federation’s current strategy for developing a new generation of elite athletes is yielding positive results.
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
He noted that the rapid improvement in the athlete’s marks strengthens her position as one of the UAE’s most prominent emerging talents in throwing events, after she previously recorded 49.02 metres in Slovenia last year
