BAHRAIN’S Salwa Eid Naser has been named as one of six finalists for the prestigious 2017 IAAF Rising Star Awards.
This was announced yesterday by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Three men and three women are in contention for the honour, in which one man and one woman will emerge as winners. They will be announced live on stage at the IAAF Athletics Awards 2017 in Monaco on November 24.
Salwa was named a women’s finalist alongside Ukrainian high jumper Yuliya Levchenko and Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas.
Following a successful junior career and an appearance at last year’s Olympic Games, Bahraini sprinter Salwa made a big breakthrough in 2017.
Although still an under-20 athlete, Salwa set national records in each round of the 400m at the IAAF World Championships, culminating with a silver medal.
After becoming the youngest-ever medallist in the women’s 400m at the World Championships, she ended her season by clocking an Asian under-20 record of 49.88s in Brussels, moving to third on the world U/20 all-time list.
The three men’s finalists are American sprinter Christian Coleman, Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis and Norwegian hurdler Karsten Warholm.