emirates7 - UAE athlete Salma Haitham Al Marri achieved a historic milestone by winning the first-ever women’s athletics gold medal in international participation for the UAE, in the hammer throw event at the Arab Athletics U18 Championship, held in Tunisia from August 23 to 27.

At just 16 years old, Al Marri has now raised her tally to three medals with the national team in throwing events, following a gold and silver at the 2024 Gulf Championships. She also holds 13 medals with Abu Dhabi Athletics Club, including 12 golds and one silver.

In the Arab Championship final, Al Marri outperformed Africa’s champion Aya Imran in the hammer throw, setting a new personal best of 55.78 meters. This came after her achievement earlier this year at the international championship in Slovenia, where she threw 49.02 meters, breaking the previous UAE national record of 44.6 meters across the junior, youth, and women’s categories.

Al Marri stated that she draws inspiration from the support of the UAE’s wise leadership for the nation’s youth, which motivates her to win more international titles and raise the country’s flag on victory podiums.

She noted that her upcoming participation in the West Asia Championship from October 2 to 5 will serve as further motivation to achieve more successes.