The UAE claimed its first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games on Monday, after teenage athlete Mariam Kareem won the women's 400m hurdles final in Nagoya, Japan, clocking a Games-record time of 54.31 seconds.
Kareem crossed the line 0.27 seconds ahead of Kazakhstan's Adelina Zems, who took silver, while India's Vithya Ramraj finished third to complete the podium. The victory capped a strong build-up for the young sprinter, who had already qualified fastest for the final earlier in the competition.
The gold is the UAE's second athletics medal of these Games and the second won by a teenage athlete, following Sulaiman Abdulrahman's silver in the men's 400m final two days earlier. Abdulrahman, 19, finished just 0.09 seconds behind Thailand's Joshua Atkinson in that race.
Officials and sports observers in the UAE have pointed to the back-to-back medals as evidence of growing investment in athletics and youth talent development across the country. The National Olympic Committee has described the results as a significant marker for the country's competitive sport ambitions on the international stage.
The 2026 Asian Games, being held in Nagoya, bring together athletes from across the continent in a wide range of disciplines. With competition still under way, the UAE team says it is hopeful of adding further medals in the remaining days of the Games.