UAE’s Arwa Ali wins 100m silver at Dakar Youth Olympics

UAE sprinter Arwa Ali won the silver medal in the women’s 100 metres at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday, clocking 11.41 seconds to take the country’s official medal tally to two, comprising one gold and one silver.

Ali finished second behind Nigeria’s Rosemary Nwankwo, who claimed gold in 11.16 seconds, while Qatar’s Dana Salem secured bronze in 11.48 seconds.

The result extends Ali’s strong continental form after she won the 100m gold medal at the Bahrain 2025 Asian Youth Games in 11.45 seconds, breaking the Games record three times during the competition.

In other athletics events, UAE sprinters Saeed Omar and Aisha Mohammed qualified for the men’s and women’s 400m finals, respectively.

Omar recorded 48.33 seconds, while Mohammed clocked 54.89 seconds, with both finishing third overall in their respective qualifying rounds.

Riyan Malhan had earlier secured the UAE’s first gold medal in the history of its participation at the Youth Olympic Games by winning the boys’ singles badminton title after defeating France’s Mady Sow in straight games in the final.

UAE equestrian Alya Almheiri also won gold as part of Team Asia in the continental team competition organised by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) during the Games.

The equestrian event is separate from the official Youth Olympic medal programme.

WAM