Maryam Al Farsi, the UAE national team sprinter participating in the 100-metre race at the Paris 2024 Olympics, conducted her training on Thursday before competing in the preliminary round of the race tomorrow.
The race features 36 sprinters in four rounds, with nine sprinters in each round. The top three in each round and the next five fastest times will advance to the first round.
American Griffith Joyner Florence holds the world record in the 100-metre race with a time of 10.49 seconds, set in 1988 at the World Championships in Indianapolis, USA, while Jamaican Thompson-Herah Elaine holds the Olympic record at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics with a time of 10.61 seconds.
Brigadier General Dr. Mohammed Al Mur, President of the UAE Athletics Federation, confirmed that the comprehensive plan launched by the federation to discover talents and create champions would contribute to increasing the participation of UAE athletics in international and Olympic championships, given its importance in establishing a development system for the sport and reaching competitive horizons in external championships.
Regarding the participation of Al Farsi in the Paris 2024 Olympics, Al Mur said, “Maryam Al Farsi will participate in the 100-metre sprint at the Paris Olympics after completing her preparation camp in the Arab Republic of Egypt, where the focus was on enhancing her technical readiness for the Olympic event. We are keen to prepare her and provide all the requirements to grant her the needed confidence. We are highly confident that her participation will serve as a significant and inspiring motivation for UAE track and field athletes to reach the Olympic Games in the coming years.”
Abdulrahman Suleiman, the technical director of the UAE Athletics Federation, confirmed Maryam Al Farsi’s readiness for the race, noting that she holds the state record for both junior and youth stages in the 100-metre race with a time of 13.04 seconds.