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Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Vice President of the UAE Olympic Committee, met on Monday morning with a delegation from the UAE Athletics Federation, in recognition of the outstanding results achieved by the national team at the 22nd Asian U20 Athletics Championships, hosted by Hong Kong last May.
The UAE team delivered a remarkable achievement, finishing fourth in Asia among 30 participating countries and first among Arab nations, after winning six medals: five gold and one bronze. The achievement is all the more significant given that the UAE delegation comprised only 10 male and female athletes, compared with other teams whose delegations exceeded 50 athletes.
Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi praised the historic qualification of 10 male and female athletes for the World Athletics U20 Championships, scheduled to take place in the US state of Oregon from 4 to 9 August, marking an unprecedented participation for the national team across 12 different events. He also commended Sulaiman Abdulrahman for recording the third-best time in the world after clocking 44.85 seconds in the 400m, as well as Mariam Karim’s fifth-place finish in the women’s 400m with a time of 56.93 seconds.
Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi said: “We are proud of the distinguished results achieved by the UAE Athletics Federation in the recent period, which reflect the scale of the efforts made and the integrated work across the Federation’s various departments and sections, producing quality results in the nation’s sporting representation. We also congratulate our sons and daughters on this historic qualification for the World Championships, and we are confident in their ability to deliver a performance befitting UAE sport and to continue writing new chapters of achievement in continental and international arenas.”
He added: “What has been achieved confirms that UAE athletics is moving forward with ambition, and that investing in young talent is the true path towards a more competitive future in upcoming Olympic competitions.”
The meeting was attended by Faris Mohammed Al Mutawa, Secretary-General of the UAE Olympic Committee; Major General Dr Mohammed Al Murr, member of the UAE Olympic Committee Board of Directors and President of the UAE Athletics Federation; HE Mohammed bin Darwish, Executive Director of the UAE Olympic Committee; and Rashid Al Ali and Jamila Abdullah, members of the UAE Athletics Federation Board of Directors.
