Meet the Saudi Athletes Preparing for the Paris Olympics

JEDDAH: With just weeks to go until the Paris Olympics kick off, Saudi Arabia is preparing for what is being hailed as one of its most significant appearances in the history of the global sporting event.

Saudi Arabia will participate for the thirteenth time in the Summer Olympics and will be one of the 206 competing countries, which will take place from July 26 to August 11 in the French capital.

Seven Saudi athletes have qualified for the Games, who will compete in show jumping (4), taekwondo (1), shot put (1) and pole vault (1).

The Kingdom’s athletes will be looking to improve on their silver medal tally from the last Tokyo Games won by Tariq Hamdi in the 75kg karate competition.

Habib Al-Amin, executive director of the Saudi Athletics Federation, and Shaddad Al-Omari, president of the Saudi Taekwondo Federation, told Arab News that they were delighted to see the athletes showcasing their talents.

Both sent their best wishes to the Saudi competitors, stressing the importance of the support of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Speaking from Antalya, Turkey, where taekwondo player Donia Abu Taleb is currently training, Al-Omari added: “Facing the top 15 taekwondo players in the world will be a very tough competition, but Donia is capable of winning. She is not here to participate, but to compete.”

Al-Amin said: “We are extremely proud of our track and field athletes for the hard work they have put in to achieve this level of excellence.”

He added: “Tolo and Al-Hizam have done their best to qualify for the Paris Games. We really have high hopes for both athletes and we are looking forward to their performance.”

Below is an overview of all the Saudi athletes who have qualified for Paris:

Jumping

The Saudi show jumping team has successfully qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after securing first place in Group G qualifying at the Doha 2023 International Show Jumping Championship.

Saudi equestrians earned a qualification card after an outstanding performance among the participating teams to return to the Olympics after a 12-year absence, with Saudi Arabia’s last participation dating back to the London Olympics in 2012.

Riders Ramzi Al-Dahami, Abdullah Al-Sharbatly, Abdul Rahman Al-Rajhi and Khaled Al-Mabti will represent the Saudi show jumping team.

Taekwondo

Abu Taleb is a taekwondo athlete competing in the under 49kg category and will be the only Saudi woman to compete at these Olympics. She qualified through the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournaments for the Paris 2024 Games.

The 27-year-old is set to give Saudi Arabia their best chance of winning a medal in Paris.

Currently ranked No. 4 in the world, she has won tournaments all over the world as well as a bronze medal in bantamweight at the 2022 Asian Championships and a bronze medal in flyweight at the World Championships in Mexico the same year.

Shot put

Saudi shot putter Mohammed Tolu has qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in shot put, after breaking the Asian record and Olympic qualifying mark with a throw of 21.80 metres during his participation in the recent Madrid meeting.

Tolu won silver at the Asian Games last summer in Hangzhou, China, where he also came close to winning gold.

Tolu’s previous record was a throw of 20.80 metres and he has since improved his mark to break the Asian record.

Pole vault

Saudi pole vaulter Hussain Al-Hizam is the latest Saudi athlete to qualify for the Games. On June 24, Al-Hizam earned his ticket to Paris after winning the bronze medal at the Memorial Czeslawa Cybulskiego in Poznan, Poland, with a height of 5.62 meters.

Previously, he also won the bronze medal in the pole vault final at the 19th Asian Games in 2023 and won the gold medal at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games. His personal bests in the event are 5.70 metres outdoors and 5.70 metres indoors.

Saudi Arabia history of the olympic games

Saudi Arabia’s Olympic history officially began in 1965 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized the nation and approved its participation in the Games.

Saudi Arabia has participated in 12 Summer Games, starting in Munich in 1972 and every Games since except Moscow in 1980.

Saudi Arabia won its first two Olympic medals in Sydney in 2000. Hadi Soua’an Al-Somaily won silver in the men’s 400 metres hurdles and Khaled Al-Eid won bronze in the individual show jumping.

In 2012, the Kingdom’s first female athletes competed at the London Games. Sarah Attar represented the country in the women’s 800 metres, while Wojdan Shaherkani competed in women’s judo.