Bahraini athletes bag gold and silver at IAAF World Youth Championship

Manama

 Making the Kingdom proud, Bahraini athlete Salwa Eid Nasser made history when she stormed to a memorable gold medal for Bahrain in a lifetime best of 51.50 seconds in the Girls 400-metres final of the Ninth IAAF World Youth Championship in Cali, Colombia.

 Adopting a more cautious approach to the first half of the race than several of her rivals, the 17-year-old athlete made her move at 200 metres and pounced down the home stretch to secure top spot and become Bahrain’s first girl to land a world youth title.

 She was followed by USA’s Lynna Irby (51.79) who clinched the silver medal and Great Britain’s Catherine Reid (52.25) who came through to take the bronze medal with a personal best time.

 Salwa Eid’s landmark achievement adds to the Bahraini athletics milestones attained under the leadership of the First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport, President of the Bahrain Athletics Association and President of the West Asian Athletics Association His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

 After the race, Nasser expressed pride in winning the gold medal and credited Shaikh Khalid for her milestone achievement, noting that BAA’s support had enabled her to clinch the gold medal and break the world record.

 Member of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Athletics Association and Head of the Kingdom’s delegation to the IAAF World Youth Championships, Ruqaya Al Ghasra expressed pride in the success of Salwa, the 2014 Youth Olympic Games silver medalist, in winning gold and the continuing success by Bahraini under the leadership of Shaikh Khalid.

 Salwa also became Bahrain’s second ever female global champion, following in the footsteps of Maryam Yusuf Jamal, the senior world 1500m champions in 2007 and 2009.

 Meanwhile, 17-year old Dalila Abdulkadir Gosa (four minutes 13.35 seconds) picked up a silver medal for the Kingdom with a personal best time in the Girls 1,500 metres, with Ethiopia's Bedatu Hirpa (4:12.92) taking gold and Kenya's Joyline Cherotich (4:15.20) the bronze.