Dubai: UAE golden girl Betlhem Belayneh Desalegn made a brief stopover in Dubai on Monday night before heading off for three high-profile meetings in Europe.
Betlhem became the country’s first ever Asian Athletics Championship gold medal winner when she won the 1,500-metres race in Pune, India, last week, before claiming another gold medal in the 5,000m in a meet record time on Sunday. She was named ‘Athlete of the Meet’ for her double success.
The UAE also celebrated a silver medal for her teammate Alia Saeed, who was second in the 10,000m. Both will now compete in the prestigious World Athletics Championships in Moscow from August 10 to 18, with a pair of Diamond League meetings in Monaco (July 19) and Stockholm (August 22) either side of that event. The pair are expected to be entered into the 3,000m and 5,000m events in Monaco.
“We need to keep the momentum going. Wins like this can bring in a lot of confidence and our task is to ensure we give the athletes the best environment to continue thriving in their events,” Ahmad Al Kamali, International Association of Athletics Federations council member and president of the UAE Athletics Federation (UAE AF) told Gulf News after landing in Dubai earlier on Monday.
“This is more of a challenge now that we have started winning medals on the continental stage. We cannot afford to relax and take things easy. The athletics season is at its peak and we now need to see how these two girls fare against the international competition. They have the confidence of winning and that should come in handy when they participate in Europe,” Al Kamali said.
