Egypt’s Salma secures gold in rowing at Arab Women Sports Tournament

Egypt’s Salma Khaled Badour of Maadi Sporting & Yacht Club claimed the gold medal in the Coastal Rowing Single Sculls competitions, bringing the curtain down on the first official rowing competitions at the Arab Women Sports Tournament (AWST) 2026, held at Al Hamriyah Beach Park.

Salma clocked a winning time of 3:09.47, securing Egypt’s first gold medal in rowing in the history of the tournament.

Tunisia’s Yoldos Othmani, representing the Tabarka Nautical Sports and Fishing Association, finished second to take the silver medal with a time of 3:23.24.

Morocco's Marwa Nakri of Rabat Beach Nautical Club claimed bronze after winning the third-place race with a time of 3:04:40 ahead of Mariam Kaki who placed fourth with a time 3:24:40..

The single sculls results completed a strong showing for rowing across two days of competition.

The Tunisian duo of Yoldos Othmani and Wala Omri won gold in the Coastal Rowing Double Sculls final with a time of 2:42.07, while Saudi Arabia’s Aljazi Alibrahim and Mariam Kaki secured silver in 2:55.43.

Bronze went to Egypt’s Mariam Abouelwafa and Salma Badour of Maadi Sporting & Yacht Club, who finished the third-place race in 2:46.50.

The awarding ceremonies for both the single and double sculls competitions were held in the presence of Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of AWST Supreme Organising Committee; Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Anzi, Secretary-General of the Arab National Olympic Committees; Hanan Al Mahmoud, Vice Chair of the Supreme Organising Committee of AWST; Moza Al Shamsi, Director of AWST; and Annamarie Phelps, Vice President of World Rowing.

Rowing competitions at AWST 2026 featured six teams representing six Arab countries: the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, highlighting the growing presence and development of women’s rowing across the region.

Commenting on the tournament, Egyptian gold medallist Salma said the races were highly competitive, with fine margins between the athletes, describing her single sculls victory as a significant achievement and an ideal response after narrowly missing out on gold in the double sculls event the previous day.

Organised by Sharjah Women’s Sports, AWST 2026 runs until February 12 and brings together 65 teams from 16 Arab countries competing across nine individual and team sports.