Zaid Al-Sarraj wins Saudi Arabia’s first gold medal

Saudi swimmer Zaid Al-Sarraj won the Kingdom’s first gold medal at the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games “Riyadh 2025”, after he topped the 100-meter freestyle race, achieving first place with a time of 0:49.62 seconds in the swimming competitions final held on Tuesday, giving Saudi Arabia its first gold medal in the Games currently being held in the capital, Riyadh, with the participation of more than 3,000 athletes from 57 countries.

The Saudi brilliance did not stop at Al-Siraj’s gold, as the Saudi champions continued to collect medals in various games. Player Abeer Al-Shehri succeeded in winning the bronze medal in the 50 kg weight category in karate competitions after defeating the Emirati Hawraa Al-Ajmi, while players Saud Al-Bashir and Emad Al-Zain added two new bronze medals in swimming and karate competitions.

These results raised the Saudi teams’ tally in the tournament to 11 medals (one gold, one silver, and nine bronze), moving the Kingdom up to twelfth place in the overall ranking.

The Saudi silver medal came through weightlifter Aqeel Al-Jassem, who achieved second place in the 60 kg weightlifting competition, after lifting 124 kg in the snatch competition, giving Saudi Arabia its first medal in the history of its participation in the Games, before the achievements continued in the following days.

The Saudi weightlifters continued their impressive performance in the final two days, with Youssef Al-Madham winning the bronze medal in the snatch competition for the 88 kg category, lifting 154 kg. The event was attended by Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz bin Musaed, Vice President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al Thani, Head of the Sports Sector at the Qatar Olympic Committee. This achievement brings the Saudi weightlifting team’s medal tally at the Games to nine (one silver and eight bronze), reaffirming the continued dominance of Saudi weightlifters in regional and international competitions.

In the boxing competitions held on the “sports track”, the Saudi national team added four new bronze medals, through Raghad Al-Nuaimi in the 60 kg weight class, Musa Al-Hawasawi in the 65 kg weight class, Fatima Al-Nuaimi in the 65 kg weight class, and Thamer Al-Mutrafi in the 60 kg weight class, thus strengthening the Green team’s presence in the medal table.

Swimmer Zaid Al-Sarraj continued his brilliance in the competitions by winning the Kingdom’s seventh bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle final with a time of 22.57 seconds, adding a new personal achievement alongside his historic gold medal.

With this continuous momentum of achievements, the Saudi teams continue their participation in the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games with a balanced performance and a remarkable presence in various competitions, confirming the development of Saudi sports and the growing ability of them to win medals in continental and international championships.

As of Tuesday evening, Turkey topped the list of countries winning medals at the Islamic Solidarity Games with 63 medals of various kinds, including 39 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze, followed by Uzbekistan with 29 medals of various kinds, including 9 gold, 12 silver and 8 bronze, while Egypt came in third with 24 medals of various kinds, including 8 gold, 6 silver and 10 bronze, while Kazakhstan came in fourth with 7 gold, 6 silver and 10 bronze, while Nigeria came in fifth with 14 medals of various kinds, including 6 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze.