DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is ready to write a new chapter in its Olympic history with 10 athletes representing the Kingdom in Paris.
Saudi athletes will be competing across four sports — athletics, equestrian, swimming and taekwondo — with seven men and three women included in the Paris-bound delegation.
A total of four medals were scooped by Saudi athletes in 12 previous appearances at the Olympics, most recently a silver clinched by Tareq Hamedi in karate in Tokyo 2020.
Here is a closer look at those who will be looking to add to Saudi Arabia’s tally at these Olympic Games and the main talking points surrounding their participation:
Saudi showjumpers out to build on 2012 success
Two of Saudi Arabia’s four previous Olympic medals have come in showjumping, with Khaled Al-Eid claiming individual bronze in the Sydney 2000 Games, and the quartet of Ramzy Al-Duhami, Abdullah Alsharbatly, Kamal Bahamdan, and Prince Abdullah Al-Saud, securing team bronze in London 2012.
A full Saudi team has qualified for Paris in showjumping with Al-Duhami and Alsharbatly returning to the fold alongside Khaled Almobty and Abdulrahman Alrajhi.
Al-Duhami and Alsharbatly bring a wealth of experience to the squad.
The 52-year-old Al-Duhami will be competing in his sixth Olympics, having made his debut back in Atlanta 1996.
Alsharbatly, 41, is a six-time Asian Games gold medalist (including team and individual gold in Hangzhou 2023) and was a silver medalist at the World Championships in 2010.
Saudi equestrians are back at the Olympics for the first time since 2012 and will be serious contenders in both team and individual competitions.
Equestrian jumping schedule at Château de Versailles:
Aug. 1 – 12:00 – Team jumping qualifier
Aug. 2 – 15:00 – Team jumping final
Aug. 5 – 15:00 – Individual jumping qualifier
Aug. 6 – 11:00 – Individual jumping final
Mashael to make history in the pool
When runner Sarah Attar and judoka Wojdan Shahrkhani took part in London 2012, it was a historic milestone as they became the first women to represent Saudi Arabia at an Olympic Games.
Saudi women have been making tremendous progress in the sports arena since then, and in Paris, 17-year-old Mashael Alayed will play her part in blazing a new trail for her countrywomen as she becomes the first female swimmer from the Kingdom to compete at an Olympic Games.
Alayed was given a universality place — which is equivalent to a wildcard invitation — to take part in the 200m freestyle heats.
Also representing Saudi Arabia in the pool is 16-year-old Zaid Al-Sarraj, who is the youngest member of the Kingdom’s delegation and was awarded a universality place in the 100m freestyle.
Swimming schedule at Paris La Defense Arena:
July 28 – 13:00 – Women’s 200m freestyle heats – Mashael Alayed
July 30 – 12:00 – Men’s 100m freestyle heats – Zaid Al-Sarraj
Abutaleb could become Kingdom’s first female Olympic medalist
She was a World Championship bronze medalist, and ranked as high as No.4 in the world in her weight class — Dunya Abutaleb is ready for the big stage and has a legitimate chance of becoming Saudi Arabia’s first ever female Olympic medalist.
The 27-year-old Riyadh resident has already made history as the first Saudi Arabian woman to qualify outright for the Olympics, without the need of a wildcard invitation.
She will be looking to challenge the likes of reigning Olympic -49kg champion Panipak Wongpattanakit and Spanish world No.1 and Tokyo silver medalist Adriana Cerezo Iglesias in her category.
Taekwondo schedule at the Grand Palais:
Aug. 7 – Starting from 10:00 – Women’s -49kg
Saudi trio fly the flag in track and field
Three Saudis will take part in athletics events in Paris and will be making their Olympic debut.
Mohamed Daouda Tolo booked his spot in the shot put competition in Paris 2024 when he improved his Asian record from 20.66m to 21.80m at a meet in Madrid last month.
The 23-year-old Tolo claimed silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year and arrives to the French capital with the 10th best distance recorded in shot put this season.
Hussain Al-Hizam joins Tolo in the field events and will compete in pole vault in Paris.
The 26-year-old placed fourth in pole vault in the Youth Olympics in Nanjing back in 2014 and last year secured the bronze medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and silver at the Asian Championships in Bangkok.
He has a personal best distance of 5.70m and a season best of 5.62m.
Hibah Mohammed is 100m and 200m national record holder and will be the sole female representative for Saudi Arabia in athletics.
The 23-year-old sprinter was granted a wildcard in the 100m event in Paris and will be looking to improve on her personal best time of 12.24 seconds.
Athletics schedule at the Stade de France:
Aug. 2 – 11:35 – Women’s 100m preliminary round – Hibah Mohammed
Aug. 2 – 21:10 – Men’s shot put qualification – Mohamed Daouda Tolo
Aug. 3 – 11:10 – Men’s pole vault qualification – Hussain Al-Hizam
