Maldivian athlete Shifna Ibrahim won a gold medal in the ‘new nations’ category of the Special Olympics sporting event currently underway in Abu Dhabi, on Monday.
The race, where Shifna conquered 100-metres in 18:01 seconds, was classed as the sixth category for women.
Mariyam Noora Rashad, another Maldivian athlete, accomplished fifth place by finishing the race in 20:67 seconds.
Coming in a close second was Maria Magdalena Esono Becheng from Equatorial Guinea, crossing the finish line at 18:07 seconds and followed by Burundi national Nishimagizwe Odette at 19:31 seconds.
In the fourth category for men's 200 metre dash, Maldivian athlete Wasmee Waheed won first runner-up, completing the race in 27:25 seconds.
Furthermore, Ali Ameen Abdul Gafoor Mohamed won fifth place in fifth category of the men’s 200m race, clocking in at 34:73 seconds.
Maldivian athletes competed in the new nations category in men’s 100m and 200 metre race as well as women’s 100 metre race. Ameen and Wasmee completed the men’s 100 metre race on Tuesday.
The second largest sports organisation for people with special needs after the Paralympics, Special Olympics was participated by 170 countries across the world.
Maldives competed against 21 other countries in the new nations category, including Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Micronesia, Lesotho, Djibouti, Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar amongst others.
Although some Maldivians had independently competed within the Special Olympics games, this was the first instance where the country had created a Special Olympics committee and officially participated in the games.
The President of the Committee Moosa Nashid, is also the President of Badminton Association.
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