Djamel Sedjati, Salwa Eid Naser and the top Arab performers at World Athletics Championships

A look at the hits and misses from the region's athletes in Tokyo

Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser during the the women's 400m section of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Getty Images

The World Athletics Championships have wrapped up in Tokyo, where a host of athletes from the Middle East and North Africa left their mark on the global stage.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways from their performances.

Bronze for Naser in historic 400m

The women’s 400m final was one of the biggest highlights of Tokyo 2025 and is a race Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser will no doubt never forget.

The Nigerian-born Bahraini took the bronze medal, clocking a season best 48.19s, behind American hurdles star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Dominican Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino.

The race was historic for more reasons than one.

McLaughlin-Levrone – who opted for the 400m flat this year instead of her signature 400m hurdles event – ran the second-fastest time in women’s 400m history, posting a stunning 47.78s to smash the championship record.

It was the first 400m race that featured two women go under 48 seconds and just the second race in history in which all eight women went under 50 seconds.

“I’m a bit disappointed but I’m grateful to God. I wish I did 47 too, but it’s okay, at least I got a season best, close to my personal best. But I wish I did a personal best,” admitted Naser, who was a silver medallist at the Paris Olympics last year and now owns four world championships medals.

Sedjati clinches 800m silver

Olympic bronze medallist Djamel Sedjati added a second world championships silver medal to his 800m resume, to go with the one he captured in Eugene 3 years ago.

The Algerian ran a season best 1:41.90 to cross the finish line in second place in Saturday’s final in Tokyo behind Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who clinched gold with a new championship record of 1:41.86.

Canada’s Marco Arop, who was the defending world champion, completed the podium, clocking 1:41.95 to settle for bronze behind his familiar rivals.

Bakkali stunned by Beamish in steeplechase

Undefeated in the 3,000m steeplechase at Worlds and the Olympics for the past four years, Soufiane El Bakkali saw his reign end in Tokyo by New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish, who took gold by outsprinting the Moroccan in the final 30 metres.

El Bakkali’s run of four consecutive major titles was snapped and he was visibly disappointed by his silver medal-winning performance.

“Sometimes, we have to accept the situation as it is,” El Bakkali, who now owns five world championship medals, wrote on Instagram.

“I was very disappointed that I struggled last night, but I know that struggling doesn't mean the end, every struggle has a story, and mine still continues.

“I always find myself facing big challenges, and I face them with courage that makes me proud of myself.”

El Bakkali was originally entered in the 5,000m but opted out following his steeplechase event.

Tearful Samba back on hurdles podium

It’s been a long road back to the world championships podium for Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba and his emotional reaction to his bronze medal finish in the 400m hurdles on Friday said it all.

Enjoying a resurgent 2025 after struggling with numerous injuries, Samba returned to the podium at Worlds for the first time since 2019, clocking a season best 47.06s behind Olympic champion Rai Benjamin (46.52s) and 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos (46.84s).

Samba edged out Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel in a photo finish and tearfully sunk to his knees in disbelief when he realised he snatched the bronze.

His fellow Qatari Ismail Doudai Abakar was also in the final and finished eighth with a 49.82.

Samba and Abakar returned to the track the following day alongside their teammates Ammar Ibrahim and Bassem Hemeida, who together made history for Qatar by qualifying for the final of the 4x400m relay race for the first time at a World Championship.

The Qataris clocked a new national record of 3:00.15 to place second in their heat behind South Africa. In Sunday’s relay final, which took place under pouring rain, Samba anchored Team Qatar to a commendable fifth place finish.

Top-four finishes for Yavi and Bouzayani in steeplechase

Kenyan-born Bahraini Winfred Yavi arrived in Tokyo as the reigning world and Olympic champion in the 3,000m steeplechase.

The 25-year-old fought hard to defend her world title but had to settle for silver as 21-year-old Faith Cherotich made a decisive move on Yavi in the final 400m to secure the gold.

Tunisian Marwa Bouzayani just missed out on making the podium but impressed with a fourth-place finish and new time of 9:01.46 to smash her own national record.

Hemida siblings shine

They may spell their last names differently, and represent different countries but there’s no doubt the Hemida trio of Bassant, Bassem and Seifeldin share the same DNA of athletic excellence.

The Egyptian-born siblings all competed in Tokyo, with Bassant representing her home country, and Bassem and Seifeldin flying the flag for Qatar.

Typically a specialist in the 100m and 200m sprints, Bassant moved up to the 400m this year at the behest of her doctors and coaches. The 28-year-old struggled with injuries the last two seasons and was advised to steer away from the pure sprints in order to extend her career.

In her first year competing in the one-lap discipline, Bassant has carved a place for herself among the world’s best, and has a semi-final appearance in Tokyo to show for it.

She clocked a new national record of 50.36 seconds in the 400m heats at these world championships to advance to the next round and went under 51 seconds again in the semi-finals to position herself as one of the top 16 one-lap runners in the world.

Given how historic this year’s 400m race was, and the mind-boggling strength of the field, Bassant has plenty to be proud of as she walks away from Tokyo.

Bassant wasn’t the only Hemida to rub shoulders with track and field royalty in Tokyo. Her brother Seifeldin qualified for the pole vault final with a new Qatari national record of 5.75m and cleared that height again in a final that saw Mondo Duplantis re-break the world record for a 14th time.

Seifeldin is the first Qatari in world championships history to reach a pole vault final.

“I dreamed of being at a world championship with [Manolo] Karalis and Duplantis. My dream has come true. And this is an Arab senior record," said Seifeldin.

In 400m hurdles action, Bassem won his heat with a time of 48.43s to qualify for the semis.

He clocked a new personal best 48.29s in the next round to place third in his semi-final, missing out on a spot in the final by a mere 0.13s.

Owis makes history for Egypt

In long jump action, Esraa Owis became the first ever Egyptian woman to make a World Athletics Championship final, thanks to her jump of 6.60m in qualification.

The 27-year-old jumped 6.37m in the final to place 11th overall.

“This isn’t just a personal achievement,” Owis wrote in a post on Instagram. “This is a historic achievement for Egypt and Arabs in the world of athletics. This is just the beginning and God willing we’ll achieve more and more.”