The Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced today, Tuesday, its participation in the Olympic Games in Paris with ten male and female athletes in show jumping, taekwondo, athletics, and swimming. The Saudi delegation marked the first female Saudi presence in the Olympics through direct qualification, courtesy of taekwondo player Dunia Abu Talib, who qualified from the Asian qualifying championships held last March in the Chinese city of Tai'an.
Representing the Kingdom in the Olympics are the show jumping team, which includes riders Ramzi Al-Dahami, Abdullah Al-Sharbatly, Khalid Al-Mubti, and Abdul Rahman Al-Rajhi, who secured their ticket to the Olympic Games after topping Group 7 qualifications at last year's Doha International Show Jumping Championship.
In athletics, 23-year-old shot putter Mohammed Tolu will make his debut in the Olympics after clinching his qualification ticket by recording an Asian record during the Madrid Athletics Meeting last June. He will be joined by teammate Hossain Al-Hazzam, who also qualifies for the Olympics for the first time in the pole vault event, earning 1252 points in the world rankings.
In terms of "wildcards," which are opportunities granted by international federations to various national federations and players worldwide for those who were unable to earn qualifying points or set records, Saudi swimmer Mishal Al-Ayed (17 years old) will compete in the women’s 200m freestyle event, thus marking her name as the first woman in the history of Saudi swimming to participate in the Olympic Games. Additionally, the youngest Saudi athlete participating in the current edition, Zaid Al-Saraj (16 years old), will compete for the first time in the men’s 100m freestyle.
Moreover, the International Association of Athletics Federations granted runner Heba Mohammed a "wildcard" to participate in the Olympic Games in the women’s 100m sprint, marking her first participation in history.
