ATHLETICS – Former world champion and Paris 2024 Olympics silver-medallist Salwa Eid Naser headlined Bahrain’s sensational haul of three gold medals in athletics yesterday at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Naser captured the title while setting a new Asiad record in the women’s 400 metres on a wet track at the 30,000-capacity Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
Fellow-Bahrainis Shitaye Habte and Nelly Korir also emerged as gold-medallists yesterday. Habte kicked off the kingdom’s golden day by securing the women’s marathon crown, and then Korir capped things off with victory in the women’s 1,500m while also setting an Asian Games all-time mark.
Their three gold medals brought the overall tally for the kingdom’s delegation in Aichi-Nagoya to 11, including an impressive seven gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.
They have been won in athletics, swimming, and mixed martial arts.
Bahrain ended yesterday’s Asiad programme in eighth place on the medal table, where they are also presently the top-ranked Arab nation.
In yesterday’s outstanding session on the track, Naser added another major title in her illustrious career after powering to an historic win.
The 28-year-old was in a class of her own in the women’s 400m final, already building a massive lead by the mid-way point and charging to the finish line solo.
She triumphed in a new Asian Games record of 49.20 seconds – the first sub-50s time in Asiad history in the women’s race.
Naser enjoyed an extraordinary margin of 3.18s from her closest challenger Zahra Zarei Manoujan from Iran, who finished in 52.38s for the silver medal.
India’s Prachi took bronze in 53.21s.
With her result, Naser secured the fifth Asiad gold medal of her career.
It was also her second title in Aichi-Nagoya after previously sprinting to the win while clocking another Asiad record as part of Bahrain’s mixed 4x400m relay team.
In the women’s marathon yesterday, Habte put in a dominant run, pacing herself at the front of the 18-runner field and going no further back than third across the entire 42.2-kilometre distance.
The 36-year-old distance-running specialist took the lead for good heading into the final two km of the run.
She won in two hours 27 minutes and 31 seconds for the first Asiad title of her career.
Habte was 12 seconds ahead of China’s Cierncuomu, who bagged silver in 2:27:43, while Japan’s Mikuni Yada claimed bronze in 2:27:56.
Bahrain’s Rose Sitienei also competed in the race. The 37-year-old narrowly missed out on the podium after placing fifth in 2:29:51.
In the women’s 1,500m final, Korir came away with Bahrain’s third gold medal of the day.
The 35-year-old triumphed in rain-hit race after a decisive late surge to finish with a new Asiad record of four minutes 04.50 seconds.
Like Habte, Korir captured the maiden Asian Games title of her career. The middle-distance star was joined on the podium by silver-medallist Chunhui Li of China, who finished in 4:05.50, while Nozomi Tanaka of Japan, who led the entire race until Korir’s decisive push, had to settle for bronze in 4:06.14.
Elsewhere yesterday in Bahrain’s busy schedule in track and field events, sprinter Edidiong Odiong qualified for the women’s 200m final after finishing third in the second of three preliminary heats in 23.56s. She did not secure a direct place in the medal round, but advanced as what is known as a ‘lucky loser’.
Fellow-Bahraini Raihanah Garoubah did not go through after placing fourth in heat one in 23.69s.
Bahrainis Abbas Ali and Ali Haji both narrowly missed out on the men’s 200m final.
Ali finished fourth in the second of three semi-final heats in 21.01s, while Haji was third in race three after clocking a new personal best of 20.91s, although it was not enough to push him forward. Earlier in the preliminary round, the pair were both in the top 10 overall amongst the 32 runners who competed across five heats.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s men’s marathon Asian record holder Elhassan Elabbassi finished fifth in the men’s marathon in 2:12:45; Mahmoud Abdelrahman ranked seventh in the men’s shot put with a best attempt of 18.70m; Salem Bakheet missed qualification for the men’s 110m hurdles final after ranking 16th in the first round heats with a time of 15.71s; and the Bahraini pair of Zouhair Aouad and Abdisamad Hirsi bowed out of the men’s 1,500m, coming up short in their bid for the final.
Aouad finished the first of two heats in seventh with a time of 3:47.28, while Hirsi was ninth in the second race in 3:50.36.
Bahrain’s athletes are back in action today with three days remaining in the athletics competitions at this year’s Asian Games.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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