UAE win first gold medal of Asian Games in women's 400m hurdles
The UAE picked up their first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games after Mariam Kareem won the women's 400m hurdles final on Monday. Kareem clocked an Asian Games-record time of 54.31 seconds to finish 0.27 secs ahead of Adelina Zems of Kazakhstan, with India's Vitchya Ramraj coming home third. It is the second athletics medal the UAE has won in Aichi-Nagoya and the second by a teenager. On…
UAE athletes secured their inaugural gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games when Mariam Kareem triumphed in the women's 400m hurdles final on Monday. Kareem shattered the Asian Games record with a time of 54.31 seconds, a quarter-second faster than Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems. Indian competitor Vitchya Ramraj secured the bronze. This marked the UAE's second athletics medal in Aichi-Nagoya, with 19-year-old Sulaiman Abdulrahman claiming silver in the men's 400m hurdles on Saturday.
Both medals were earned by young athletes. Prior to Monday's race, Kareem had set a personal best of 55.14 seconds in qualifying. The Asian Games organizers encountered scheduling difficulties on Monday due to continuous rain, which disrupted various sporting events. Tennis, surfing, and cricket were among the sports affected. Cricket's men's quarter-finals between Pakistan and India were canceled due to the weather, with both teams advancing through the rankings.
Afghanistan's players expressed disappointment as they would have preferred to compete against India, given their current form. Meanwhile, Typhoon Surigae struck Japan's southern Okinawa region, with predictions of additional rain and strong winds disrupting the Games in the coming days.
Written by urgent.news from The National UAE's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- UAE win first gold medal of Asian Games in women's 400m hurdles thenationalnews.com
- Thai trailblazer claims Asian Games sprint double in rainy Nagoya brecorder.com
