Algiers— Libyan champion Retaj Al-Sayeh won first place and the gold medal in the discus throw on Thursday at the Arab Athletics Championship women competition that took place in Oran, Algeria last week.
Ms. Al-Sayeh Faced a rather tough competition with players from Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria and secured the gold medal with a throw of 51.9 meters.
Two Tunisian competitors won two medals: the silver went to Ms. Ghofran Al Hammadi with a throw of 47.85, and the bronze medal went to Ms. Shaimaa Shuaikh with a throw of 46.85 meters.
Retaj’s gold is the first gold medal for the Libyan national team that has participated in the Arab Athletics Championship.
It is worth noting that Al-Sayeh received moral support on the day of the competition from none other than Sandra Elkasevic, the famous Croatian discus thrower with two-time Olympic champion discus thrower and seven-time European champion.
Shortly before the start of the competition on Thursday, Ms. Elkasevic had sent Ms. Al-Sayeh an encouragement note on her Facebook platform saying, “I wish you all the best for you, champion. Just believe in yourself and then everything is possible.”
At 11:22 a.m., Ritaj replied: “thank you, Queen of the disc, I will send you the news today…” At 8:25 p.m., Ritaj sent Sandra the good news with a picture carrying the gold medal saying: “Sandra, thank you, champion, I took the gold,” with many red hearts. Sandra answered back: “Congrats, how far did throw? Are you happy?”
In April 2024, Retaj Al-Sayeh announced for the second time her retirement as a libyan track and field champion, sending an apology to her fans via her Facebook page. She cited as a reason government authorities lack of support despite her repeated demands.
After winning the gold medal on Thursday, Al-Sayeh told reporters “the championship was held in the same place where I sustained my injury in 2023.”
She thanked her coach who happened to be her father Salem Al-Sayeh. “On this occasion, I would like to thank my coach, my father Salem Al-Sayeh, and Captain Abdulsalam Al-Jahani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Close Combat System Academy (CCSA), for their support and for returning to the field.”
Meanwhile, also on Thursday, the Libyan national women’s archery team won second place basking the silver medal in the U-21 Olympic Archery Competition at the 14th Arab Championship that was held in Tunisia.
Sponsored by the Libyan Archery Federation and coached by Coach Ahmed Al-Majrisi, the Libyan ladies team was represented by Aman Al-Faqi, Rasha Abu Al-Zamazem and Sabria Al-Saqzli.
