https://arab.news/yztd7
PARIS: Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning sports scene received a boost after 16-year-old swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj came first in his men’s 100m freestyle heat at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
While the teenager, the youngest member of the Kingdom’s delegation, did not progress to the next stage of the competition, he set a new personal best with a time of 51.21 seconds.
Al-Saraaj earned his place at the Games through a universality spot — a place offered to under-represented National Olympic Committees to increase the diversity of participating nations.
Earlier on Sunday, 17-year-old Mashael Al-Ayed finished sixth in her women’s 200m freestyle heat with a time of 2:19.61.
The Saudi Olympic team, a 10-strong group comprising seven men and three women, is competing across four sports — athletics, equestrian, swimming and taekwondo.
Previously, Saudi athletes have taken four medals across 12 Olympic Games. The most recent was a silver won by Tareq Hamedi in karate at Tokyo in 2020.