Olympics-Saudi hails kingdom's first female Olympic swimmer
By Ashraf Hamed Atta
PARIS, July 28 (Reuters) -Saudi dignitaries on Sunday hailed the performance of Mashael Alayed, the first female swimmer from the kingdom to compete in an Olympics.
The 17-year-old is the only female swimmer in the delegation and smashed her personal best to come sixth of seven in her 200 metres freestyle heat.
Female athletes were for many years an untapped reservoir of talent in the conservative Islamic state, with girls banned from participating in sport at public schools until 2017 and women not allowed into sports stadiums until the following year.
Princess Reema bint Bandar bint Sultan, an influential member of the Saudi Olympic committee and the kingdom's ambassador to Washington, who has led efforts to integrate Saudi women into sport, wrote on X "Proud to cheer on this young woman! Breaking boundaries! Mashael Alayed.”
While she did not make the semi-finals with her swim, she clocked two minutes 19.61 seconds at the Aquatic Complex in Paris' La Défense Arena to beat her previous best of 2:21.04 seconds.
Her time, in her fourth major championship since entering the elite development program in the kingdom, was 23.82 seconds behind the fastest qualifier, Australia's Mollie O'Callaghan.
Saudi swimming federation president Ahmed Alqadamani told Reuters Alayed's participation was "an indication of the potential and ambitions of Saudi sports thanks to the great support of young athletes to represent their country in the best way".
"I see that Mashael today is different from Mashael yesterday, where participation in the Olympics, contact with the best swimmers from different countries of the world, contributes to the refinement and development of her talent very much," he said.
"Perhaps most importantly, her participation will inspire a future generation of female players in the future."
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal, sports minister, chairman of the Saudi Olympic Committee and head of the kingdom's delegation in Paris said on X: "Mashael Alayed has a great future ahead, all the best."
Alayed, who represents Ettifaq club, won a gold medal and two silvers in the first Gulf games in the UAE in April 2024. She also won three bronzes and a silver medal at the Saudi Arabian Games.
Reporting by Ashraf Hamed Atta; Editing by Alison Williams
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
