Silver for Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser in women’s 400m at Paris 2024
Dominican Republic’s Paulino takes gold in Olympic record time
Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser expressed mixed emotions after claiming a silver medal in the women’s 400m on her Olympic debut. Eid Naser clocked 48.53 seconds on a wet night in Paris but was outpaced by Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, who raced to gold in an Olympic record time of 48.17.
The Bahraini sprinter appeared disappointed after the race, having never truly challenged for gold. However, she comfortably secured silver, finishing ahead of bronze medalist Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland, who clocked 48.98.
Eid Naser has won medals of all colors at the World Championships, but this was her first Olympic appearance. She missed the Tokyo Games due to a controversial ban for missed doping tests, which was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Despite her success, Eid Naser expressed mixed emotions: “I cannot even begin to put into words what this means. I am happy and at the same time I am sad.”
Gold medalist Marileidy Paulino said: “This is the best of my life, absolutely it is. I saw myself as very strong, I’ve worked so hard, and now I have an Olympic record.
For me, this gold medal means a lot. It was the medal that I needed to complete an Olympic cycle, and it is a medal that my country needed. The truth is that it was worth it because I think it will inspire many young people who are in a precarious situation. Many doors will open for them because of me.”
Paulino entered the race as a favorite after winning gold at last year’s world championships in Budapest. However, this victory, achieved in front of a cheering home crowd, will likely be the highlight of her career.
Elsewhere, Rai Benjamin of Team USA won gold in the men’s 400m hurdles, defeating his main rivals. The race featured a highly anticipated showdown between Benjamin, Norway’s Karsten Warholm, and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos.
Benjamin emerged victorious with a time of 46.46 seconds, followed by Warholm (47.06) and Dos Santos (47.26). Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba finished sixth but was never in contention for a medal.
In the men’s modern pentathlon, Egypt’s Ahmed Elgendy set an Olympic record points total in qualifying for the final. Elgendy, the silver medalist from Tokyo, won his semi-final with a record tally of 1516 points.
The 24-year-old excelled in fencing, riding, swimming, and laser run, topping his section with the best aggregate performance. Despite some struggles in showjumping, he more than compensated in other events.
His compatriot Mohanad Shaban narrowly qualified for the final, finishing ninth in the second semi-final. Only the top nine progress to Saturday’s main event, which begins at 7:30 pm UAE time, with the laser run concluding at 9.10 pm.
