Day of mixed fortunes for UAE athletes at Paris Olympics

Al Shehhi clocked a time of 2.17.17 in the 200-metre freestyle event

By Team KT

Published: Sun 28 Jul 2024, 6:45 PM

Emirati swimmer Maha Al Shehhi finished 28th in the women’s 200-metre freestyle heats at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Al Shehhi clocked a time of 2.17.17 in the event, the UAE’s National Olympic Committee announced on X, formerly Twitter.

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Al Shehhi expressed happiness at her Olympic debut in Paris where she competed against some of the best swimmers in the world.

The youngster managed to break her previous personal record of 2:17.37 by 0.20 seconds despite the strong competition and global media spotlight on the event.

Meanwhile, UAE judoka Khorloodoi Bishrelt lost to Masha Ballhaus of Germany in the round of 16 in the under-52 kg competition.

Earlier, Khorloodoi won her round of 32 match against China’s Zhou Balibun.

Narmond Bayan, another member of the UAE judo team, was also in action at the Olympics on Sunday.

Bayan lost the round of 32 match in the under-66 kg category to An Paul of South Korea.

A 14-member team of athletes is representing the UAE at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

Equestrian rider Omar Al Marzouqi and cyclist Safiya Al Sayegh carried the UAE's flag during the opening ceremony on Friday.

Al Marzouqi won the silver medal in individual showjumping at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in 2018.

At the Asian Games last year in China, Al Marzooqi helped the UAE claim team bronze and won a silver medal in the individual competition.

The UAE's national equestrian team is set to compete with 20 other teams in the show jumping competition which will start in the first week of August. The show-jumping event will be followed by the individual competitions on August 5-6.

Safiya Al Sayegh, the first female Emirati cyclist to qualify for the Olympics, will be in action in the road race at the Paris Games on August 4.

The rising star is leaving no stone unturned to deliver her best performance on the grand stage.

The 158-km long women’s road race in France will test the skills and endurance of Al Sayegh who has done all the hard work to be among the world’s elite female cyclists.

“I am looking forward to doing the longest race of my life in Paris. It’s an incredible honour to be at the Olympics and I hope to give my best performance for my country,” she said.

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