Dalma first Saudi woman to win an Olympic medal

For the first time in history a female athlete from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has competed at an Olympic event.

Dalma Rushdi Malhas, a member of the Saudi Youth Olympic Games Team, participated in the Equestrian competition this week. Her participation has been facilitated by the FEI working in conjunction with the IOC to widen the participation quota.

Dalma competed in the two rounds of the Team competition hors concours (out of competition) as she was not part of an official team, picking up 16 faults in the first round and then going clear in the second when she was first into the arena. She had her first taste of full Olympic competition yesterday in the opening round of the individual, completing with just four faults. She is now in equal 10th place going into tomorrow’s individual final, the equivalent of one fence behind the nine riders on zero who are battling it out for individual glory.

In winning the bronze medal, Malhas was not only the first Saudi woman athlete to compete in the inaugural Games for the world's youth aged between 14 and 18, but also gave the Kingdom its second medal in an Olympic competition after Khalid Al-Eid in the 2000 Sydney Games, where he won the bronze in equestrian.

“What a day, it was a real high. I still can't believe I have this medal. It hasn't sunk in yet,” Malhas was quoted as saying by States News Service.

The nine-member Saudi delegation to the Singapore Games includes seven track and field athletes, one swimmer and Malhas.

True to Saudi tradition, Malhas was accompanied to Singapore by her grandfather, Hamed Mutabagani, as her male guardian and she wore hijab outside the equestrian arena.

FEI President, HRH Princess Haya said, “We in the FEI are enormously proud to have one of our athletes record this historic event.”