Saudi Swimmer Sets New Personal Record at Paris Olympics

Saudi swimmer Mashael Al Ayed. SPA
Saudi swimmer Mashael Al Ayed. SPA
TT

Saudi Swimmer Sets New Personal Record at Paris Olympics

Saudi swimmer Mashael Al Ayed. SPA
Saudi swimmer Mashael Al Ayed. SPA

Saudi swimmer Mashael Al Ayed set a new personal record and secured the sixth position in the 200-meter freestyle event at the Paris la Defense Arena during the 33rd Olympic Games.

The competition was attended by President of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal.

Al Ayed, 17, delivered an exceptional performance in her first Olympic appearance, finishing the race in 2:19.61, breaking her previous record of 2:21.04.

Al Ayed is one of the first female swimmers in the Saudi Swimming Federation. She is also the first Saudi female swimmer to win a regional medal and is registered with the International Swimming Federation.



Hamilton Declared Winner of F1 Belgian GP after Mercedes Teammate Russell DQ

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton waves as he arrives for the podium ceremony after the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Spa on July 28, 2024. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP)
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton waves as he arrives for the podium ceremony after the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Spa on July 28, 2024. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP)
TT

Hamilton Declared Winner of F1 Belgian GP after Mercedes Teammate Russell DQ

Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton waves as he arrives for the podium ceremony after the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Spa on July 28, 2024. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP)
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton waves as he arrives for the podium ceremony after the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit in Spa on July 28, 2024. (Photo by SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP)

Lewis Hamilton was promoted to first place at the Belgian Grand Prix after race officials disqualified his Mercedes teammate George Russell for driving an underweight car on Sunday.
Russell crossed the line first after making only one pit stop, finishing just ahead of Hamilton. He celebrated the win in Spa, which would have been the third of the British driver’s career.
But race officials found that his car weighed in below the established limits and ruled to disqualify his result, The Associated Press reported.
“It is heartbreaking to be disqualified from today’s race. It had been an unbelievable grand prix for us to make the one-stop strategy work," Russell said. “Despite the disqualification, I am of course proud to have crossed the line first. It is also good that the team was still able to take the victory with Lewis.”
Hamilton took his record haul to 105 F1 career victories for the former seven-time world champion. He has now won two of the last three races after his triumph at Silverstone earlier this month ended a wait of nearly 1,000 days without a win dating back to the penultimate race of 2021. His resurgence comes after he decided to join Ferrari next season and put an end to his 12 years with Mercedes.
“I feel for George, and you don’t want to win a race through a disqualification, but we have been back in the fight for victories in the past few races,” Hamilton said. "It is incredibly competitive now."
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved up into second place, while pole-sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium.