UAE teenager Mariam Kareem’s stunning rise from school runner to Asian Games champion
After a dream summer that saw her place fourth in the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships and clinch gold at the Asian Games, Emirati teenager Mariam Kareem is still trying to wrap her head around ever…
After a dream summer that saw her place fourth in the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships and clinch gold at the Asian Games, Emirati teenager Mariam Kareem is still trying to wrap her head around ever…
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After a dream summer that saw her place fourth in the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships and clinch gold at the Asian Games, Emirati teenager Mariam Kareem is still trying to wrap her head around everything she has accomplished over the past couple of months.
The 18-year-old hurdler started her season running 57.39 seconds at a Grand Prix in Addis Ababa in April and finished it with a stunning 54.31s to top the podium at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, two weeks ago.
The time Kareem clocked in Japan didn’t just earn her the gold medal; it also saw her set an Asian Games record in the 400m hurdles, as well as a new Asian U20 record.
In August, Kareem, who is based in Sharjah, clocked a time of 56.27s to place fourth at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, finishing just 0.28s shy of the podium.
She felt confident she would be fast at the Asian Games the following month, but never expected she would be able to shave nearly two seconds off her time to secure the gold.
“I would say it was an unexpected thing for me,” a smiling Kareem told The National. “After the Eugene World Juniors, I had a lot of training, a lot of sessions, a lot of correction.
FAQ
What happened?
After a dream summer that saw her place fourth in the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships and clinch gold at the Asian Games, Emirati teenager Mariam Kareem is still trying to wrap her head around everything she has accomplished over the past couple of months.
What happens next?
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