UAE's Salma Al Marri Breaks National Hammer Throw Record

Salma Haitham Al Marri just delivered a career-best performance for UAE athletics. Competing at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the young hammer thrower launched a mark of 58.96 metres, smashing the previous national record of 58.12 metres and doing it on one of the sport's biggest stages.

Al Marri finished 13th out of 22 in the qualifying round, outthrowing athletes from Poland, Denmark, and Spain—nations with serious pedigree in the discipline—and came agonisingly close to a final spot, missing out by just one position.

Rashid Naser Al Ali, Member of the Board of Directors of the UAE Athletics Federation and Chairman of the National Teams Committee, said the performance reflects real progress in Al Marri's technique and overall level as an athlete, calling it a strong showing against some of the world's best in her category.

Al Marri’s trajectory has been steep - just last year, she threw 49.02 metres in Slovenia, breaking the previous national record of 44.60 metres across youth, junior, and senior categories in one go. Since then, she's added nearly 10 metres to her own mark, a leap that's rare even among athletes twice her experience.

Al Ali sees this as more than a single result. Setting that mark at a World Championships, against athletes from across the globe, says a great deal about where Al Marri is headed, and she's only competing at junior level, with plenty of room left to grow.