Saad Shadad Al Asmari, the former Saudi champion & athletics national team coach was awarded the title of veteran athlete by the International Association of Athletics Federations at the honoring ceremony that was held recently in Hungary on the sidelines of the men’s and women’s world championships.
He started practicing athletics in 1986 until his retirement in 2003. He won 5 medals during his participation in international competitions: the Asian Athletics Championships, the Arab Games and the Asian Quartet Championships, in addition to the silver in the Asian Games 1992, and the bronze in the World Athletics Championships 1998.
He is the first Arab and Gulf athlete to achieve these wonderful triumphs, which is credited to him personally and to his training career at the Bahrain Athletics Association. In fact, these achievements are added to his record as a competitor player that includes winning the first gold medal in the Asian Games in Hiroshima 1994, and the first Silver medal 3000m steeplechase for Saudi Arabia in the World Athletics Championships, Swedish 1995.
In addition to what he achieved as a coach for the Bahrain Athletics Association, which many of his both sex players were able to win medals during his two terms training period in Bahrain. The first period was from 2015 until 2018, then he returned again from 2021 to present, besides, the great technical work he provided for his country’s federation during his period of handling positions within the Saudi Athletics Federation.
The General Assembly meeting witnessed the holding of elections for the Board of Directors of the International Association of Athletics Federations, where the candidate of the Bahrain Athletics Association, Eng. Badr Naser, who engaged in the electoral race for the second time and managed to win 49 votes after obtaining 42 votes in the last election cycle. He was unable to win a seat due to intense competition. Women were able to gain 11 seats on the Board of Directors out of 13, and only two men won the leftovers two seats.
The General Assembly meeting was attended by Yusuf Ahmed, the Secretary General, and the treasurer, Eng. Badr Nasser.