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Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser the 2019 World champion and 2024 Olympic silver medalist at 400m has signed on as a Racer with Grand Slam Track ahead of the professional track league’s inaugural season in 2025 – Each athlete will receive points for their finishing position in the two races the athlete with the highest point total will win the Slam and the $100,000 prize for first place – Naser owns a personal best of 48.14 for 400m when she won the 2019 World Championships in Doha she was suspended for missing three drug tests in a 12-month span and missed the Tokyo Olympics Paulino and Naser are the two fastest 400m women in 2024 Paulino won all six races including the Olympics and Diamond League final They have never raced each other over 200m Paulino owns a faster personal best over 200m 22.36 to Naser’s 22.51 “Joining Grand Slam Track is a huge opportunity and I’m determined to keep pushing myself with every race This league presents an exciting challenge and I’m ready to give it everything I’ve got I know this season will push me to new limits 400m Olympic bronze medalist Natalia Kaczmarek and Rhasidat Adeleke could all be candidates for the final Racer spot 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas (who also boasts a 49.68 PB for 400m) could also be an intriguing fit but also has the versatility to join the short sprints Racers group that will race the 100m/200m CITIUS MAG has dubbed the Racers who have the versatility to compete across more than one Grand Slam Track event group as “unicorns.” Two-time 400m hurdles Olympic champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone would be another unicorn since she has signed with the league but could contest the 200m/400m group instead of the 400m/400m hurdles grouping Who Else Has Signed With Grand Slam Track So Far: – Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (June 18th) – Josh Kerr (June 27th) – Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse (Sept – Fred Kerley and Kenny Bednarek (Sept – Melissa Jefferson (Sept – Masai Russell, Cyrena Samba Mayela and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Sept – Alison Dos Santos and Clément Ducos (Sept – Muzala Samukonga (Sept – Quincy Hall and Matthew Hudson-Smith (Oct – Nikki Hiltz (Oct – Grant Fisher and Ronald Kwemoi (Oct – Roshawn Clarke and Ackera Nugent (Oct – Luis Grijalva (Oct – Shamier Little, Jasmine Jones and Rushell Clayton (Oct – Jessica Hull (Oct – Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts (Oct – Marileidy Paulino (Oct – Jereem Richards (Oct – Marco Arop (Oct – Tsigie Gebreselama and Agnes Ngetich (Oct Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile. You May Also Like was born of ex-journalists, ex-pros, and superfans who came together to geek out on running. By spotlighting athletes and their stories, we’re on a mission to modernize track and field media coverage and give fans a home to engage with their favorite sport. Track and field news straight to your inbox Design By Butter Studio Code By Buena Suerte the greater their knowledge about a given subject will be Data analysis has become an increasingly important tool in modern-day sports as every nuanced area of fitness and performance is measured and compared with the hope of finding a degree of improvement that will give a competitor an advantage are tracked so that coaches can analyse positions Top athletes across track and field have their reflex times scrutinised as well as every technical detail of body movement from stride length to throwing angle to VO2 capacity Within a sportsbook, for example, all the odds listed by the bookie come from data analysis. Expert sites, in turn, collect data on the top bookmaker prices to compile a selection of the best football odds for today and explain how to compare and analyse them to choose the right ones for the event you want to bet on Bookmaker analytics can only come from data that is first collected by technology and then presented in a way that allows the operator to price odds accordingly based on probability This is a mirror of what happens in sports and then that is sorted into relevant information that trainers and sports scientists use to try and improve the performance margins Sports teams and athletes use data analysis to meet goals and targets It’s a way to evaluate all players in the squad through training sessions something that would be a lot more difficult without it Data goes towards making team selections and fitting the right tactics for the right occasion Gathering intel on opposition is another usage of data analysis teams can try to spot vulnerabilities that upcoming opponents may have in an attempt to leverage a better position when they go head-to-head Deep analysis can also help towards the health of athletes Collecting physiological data is a big part of modern sports and it’s rare to see any athletes who are not hooked up to some kind of data-gathering technology have sensors in their gum shields that measure the force of an impact to help detect potential concussions This is a huge safety measure and by monitoring muscle data analysis goes a long way towards injury prevention Most use GPS trackers and biometric sensors to measure heart rate This data isn’t just numbers— it shapes training keeping athletes sharp without pushing them into overtraining or injury real-time stats help tweak pacing on the fly ensuring a runner doesn’t burn out too soon or struggle in the final miles A counterargument to data analysis is that it takes away from the magic of sport with athletes having to rely on their own sense of abilities skills and instincts of how to improve them machines were much simpler and racing was more about driver ability than leaning on technology to shave milliseconds off a lap sprinters used to focus entirely on their technique and feel for the race with the help of detailed biomechanical data Training schedules and routines are typically done on the back of data analysis leaving maverick geniuses and people with natural-born advantages often lost in a homogeneous Sports fans can even get something out of all of this modern world of sports data It’s all about getting the information to people and it can help in areas such as: the statistics mentioned by commentators or which appear on-screen From tracking up-to-the-minute expected goals for a football team or level of fatigue as indicated by body temperature or sweat rate for sprinters in athletics then that can be passed along as a benefit for bettors the more nuanced the look that a bettor can have on relevant betting markets there are many patterns and insights to unravel The statistics that come from data-driven sports There’s a thrill about creating a fantasy NFL or football team players can get much more detailed information which will help both in the selection of team members and how to use them throughout a season data in sports is not going away and the pace of technology will only mean that insights will get even deeper and more nuanced But it certainly has its benefits in terms of delivering a much richer fan experience it should also provide a much higher quality of sports action Innes FitzGerald smashes the European under-20 3000m record The extreme challenge of the 1972 English National IU events login Select one or more items below to generate a custom URL for your feed Showing search results matching "{{ obj.search_str }}" Date range: {{ formatDate(obj.start_date Y') }} {[ if (obj.end_date) { ]} to {{ formatDate(obj.end_date Clear all filters Current calendar: {[ if (!_.isEmpty(group)) { ]} {{obj.group}} {[ } else { ]} Main Calendar {[ } ]} Subscribe to all {{obj.group}} events Salwa Eid Naser delivered a jaw-dropping performance in Kingston on Saturday night storming to a world-leading 48.67 to win the women’s long sprint at the Grand Slam Track Series (GST) and reassert herself as a dominant force ahead of this year's World Championships in Tokyo and third-fastest woman in history obliterated a stacked field that featured Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino triple Olympic gold medallist Gabby Thomas She exploded out of the blocks like a woman on a mission devouring the backstretch with terrifying ease but Naser’s high-octane stride and flawless transition into the final 100m left no doubt—she was in a class by herself Naser powered through the line in 48.67 seconds the fastest time in the world so far this year and the fastest ever on Jamaican soil who looked strong early but faded slightly to finish in 50.35 NCAA champion Nickisha Pryce couldn’t replicate her indoor heroics and crossed in 50.92 ahead of Talitha Diggs and Dina Asher-Smith and Emmanuel Wanyonyi put themselves in prime position to walk away with USD$100,000 cheques by winning their opening events in their respective GST categories ahead of Sunday’s finale Jefferson-Wooden surged late to win the 100m in 11.11 keeping herself ahead of a tightly packed field with Jacious Sears and Daryll Neita close behind American Tia Jones clocked 12.63 to edge Danielle Williams and Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn Jones’ win gives her 12 points and the inside track on the event title World Indoor Championship bronze medallist Ackera Nugent was fourth in 12.75 Dylan Beard stormed to victory in the 110m hurdles Frenchman Sasha Zhoya took second in 13.34 in a close finish with Freddie Crittendon (13.35) and Daniel Roberts and Omar McLeod who were both credited with 13.36 Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi executed a textbook race to win the 1500m in 3:35.18 narrowly ahead of American stars Yared Nuguse (3:35.36) and Cole Hocker (3:35.52) The former World U20 champion now stands as the front-runner in the short-distance category heading into Sunday Saturday brought a much-needed boost in crowd support inside the National Stadium with more fans turning out to witness the action GST founder Michael Johnson will be hoping for an even bigger turnout on Sunday as the first-ever Grand Slam Track meet wraps up With major payouts on the line and points contributing toward the season-long $100,000 bonus the final day in Kingston promises fireworks And if Saturday’s performances are anything to go by the favourite will be the runner-up at the World Championships The Bahraini was last year’s winner at Athletissima and having just won four gold medals at the Asian championships will be looking again to dip under 50 seconds She will be up against the trio from Jamaica Chrisann Gordon Stephenie Ann McPherson and Shericka Williams and she will be wanting to show what she is capable of in her new discipline in the starting line-up will be the American Courtney Okolo and the Dutch Madiea Ghafoor.  —————————- We use cookies and other tracking technologies to personalize and improve your experience. 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More info the Olympic silver medalist returns to the track today in the 200m showdown Bahraini sprint sensation Salwa Eid Naser is back under the spotlight today in Florida carrying the nation’s hopes in the second stop of the Grand Slam Track 2025—a new global league founded by Olympic icon Michael Johnson The three-day event at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar is an important chapter in the international sprint calendar and Naser is firmly in the mix for long sprints dominance in her signature event—the women’s 400m Naser delivered an impressive performance to take second place with a time of 49.33 seconds just behind reigning Olympic and world champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic Naser's performance stood out as one of the fastest times recorded worldwide in 2025 further cementing her return to top form after securing silver at the Paris 2024 Olympics with a time of 48.53 seconds The result is also a major boost to her campaign in the long sprints category which spans both the 200m and 400m disciplines Naser returns to the track today for the 200m While the 400m remains her primary strength her 200m credentials are not to be underestimated—having clocked 22.99s for fourth place in Kingston earlier this season Every race counts in this innovative league Athletes are split into event groups—Naser’s being the long sprints—and accumulate leaderboard points based on their finishes The athlete with the highest cumulative points total across all four Slam events will be crowned champion the Grand Slam Track Champion in each event group earns a $100,000 prize Nickisha Pryce and Stacey Ann Williams (Jamaica) and Americans Isabella Whittaker and Kendall Ellis—all of whom are among the world’s top-ranked sprinters creating another exciting head-to-head clash With the Grand Slam’s demanding format—two high-stakes races in three days—recovery It’s a challenge tailor-made for an athlete like Naser whose career has been defined by greatness Naser’s journey back to the summit has been anything but straightforward After becoming world champion in 2019 with the third-fastest 400m time in history (48.14s) she faced a two-year suspension (2019–2021) for whereabouts violations taking Olympic silver in Paris and now pursuing the Grand Slam crown with renewed fire Naser is the only Bahraini athlete competing in Miami but her presence alone ensures that Bahrain’s flag flies proudly on the world stage Her performances this weekend will play a crucial role in shaping the overall standings before the next Grand Slam stops in Philadelphia (May 30–June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27–29) SIX YEARS ago at the World Athletics Championships in Doha Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser set the Khalifa International Stadium on fire with a stunning win in the women’s 400 metres final clocking 48.14 seconds to capture the gold medal The time by the Nigeria-born athlete was the third-fastest ever in the event behind Marita Koch of Germany (47.60) and Jarmila Kratochvílova of Czechoslovakia (47.99) At the Grand Slam meet on Saturday inside the National Stadium the 26-year-old delighted fans with a special display In what was the performance of the evening she sprinted to a world-leading 48.67 to win the one-lap event pushing the United States’ Gabby Thomas to a personal best of 49.14 for second with Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic third in 49.35 It was a stadium record and the fastest time ever recorded in the event on local soil by a female athlete it was the first time in 10 meetings that Salwa had gotten the better of her opponent and after her jaw-dropping run the 26-year-old was pleased with her outstanding performance “I am extremely proud of my achievement This is my third-fastest ever and the best in only my second race of the season,” said Salwa who a week earlier had opened up with a 48.94 clocking in Bayaguana where she also raced to a 22.45-second time in the 200m The Tokyo World Championships is some five months away but her performance on Saturday has put her in pole position for gold as she took control from the first 150m to destroy a quality field and I think I am approaching the same shape I was in when I ran that fast time in Doha but I am not putting any pressure on myself,” she said She also spoke about her experience competing in Jamaica for the first time “I feel very comfortable competing here in Jamaica and the atmosphere was lovely,” said the silver medallist at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris View the discussion thread. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee We protect displaced people and support them as they build a new future The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brings renewed hope to Gaza and we are ready to scale up our work to meet the enormous needs We started our relief efforts after World War Two we work in both new and protracted crises across 40 countries where we help save lives and rebuild futures NRC works to protect the rights of displaced people during crisis NORCAP works to better protect and empower people affected by crises and climate change We collaborate with partners on finding solutions to meet the needs of people at risk Get the latest news from our work in the field +47 23 10 98 00nrc@nrc.no +47 90 56 23 29media@nrc.no fundraising@nrc.no Over 90 per cent of our global revenue goes directly to fulfil our purpose. Your Ads Privacy ChoicesIMDb The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against the clearance of Salwa Eid Naser to compete The appeal was filed about a week after World Athletics filed a similar appeal before CAS in late November the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) disciplinary tribunal had ruled that Naser had not committed an anti-doping rule violation in relation to an alleged filing failure and missed tests The tests were missed between March 12 and April 12 World Athletics requested that the AIU decision "be set aside and that it be replaced with a new decision in which the 2019 400m world champion is found to have committed an ADRV and sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility The athlete has retained the services of Dr Emir Crowne Matthew Gayle and Kristie Irving of Trinidad-based New City Chambers who confirmed that WADA had also appealed the ruling "I can confirm that WADA has launched a separate appeal against the decision of World Athletics' Disciplinary Tribunal in the Salwa Naser matter,” Dr Crowne told Sportsmax.TV “We will be asking that WADA's appeal be consolidated with World Athletics' appeal and that the hearing be open to the public." The Nigerian-born athlete who now competes for Bahrain ran the third fastest time in history while winning the 400m title in Doha Only Marita Koch (47.60) and Jarmila Kratochvílová (47.99) have run faster than her 48.14 Naser also had a missed test against her name in January 2020 Charges of missing three drug tests within a 12-month period against Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser have been dismissed by an Independent Panel administered by Sport Resolutions in the United Kingdom The decision came after the tribunal dismissed a missed test after the tester knocked on a storage unit door rather than her apartment Naser was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit on June 5 for missing three drug tests prior to her participation in the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha Qatar where she won gold in the 400m in 48.14s the third fastest time in history this has been quite the ordeal for her and she can now put this behind her and focus on her training," said her representative Dr Emir Crowne 30 Under 30 2024 Salwa Eid Naser clinched the silver medal in the women's 400 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympics She ranked third in the world in the women's 400-meter category as of October 15 The Nigerian-born sprinter made her debut for Bahrain at the Arab Junior Championships in 2014 She is a three-time world championship medalist with a silver and bronze in 2017 and a gold in 2019 She won five medals at the 2019 Asian Championships and four gold and two silver medals at the Asian Games Olympics Mashallah a new Olympic record by Ahmed Elgendy, can't keep calm untill the final, finger crossed 🤞🧿Knock 'em dead champ 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2mw1KITkJF The Paris Olympic 400m silver medallist and 2019 world champion recorded the fastest ever 400m in March Salwa Eid Naser has laid down a big marker for the outdoor season after running 48.94 over 400m at the Felix Sanchez Classic in Bayaguana The Bahraini athlete won the race by almost two seconds Naser followed up her 400m run with victory in the 200m clocking a personal best of 22.45 over half a lap The 26-year-old’s performance will have no doubt caught the attention of her competitors at the upcoming inaugural Grand Slam Track in Kingston Naser is down as a Racer in the women’s long sprints category meaning she will compete over 200m and 400m in Kingston Talitha Diggs and Stacey Ann Williams over both half and a full lap at Independence Park Naser secured the silver medal in the 400m at last summer’s Paris Olympics and placed behind Paulino on the podium The Bahraini athlete clocked 48.53 at the Stade de France with Paulino running an Olympic record of 48.17 to win the gold medal Naser’s personal best in the 400m is 48.14 which currently has her third on the all-time list – and she recorded that in Doha when she became world champion over the distance six years ago less than a year after her triumph in Qatar Naser was provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit for one filing failure and three missed tests in a 12-month period A disciplinary panel subsequently dismissed the charges but the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld appeals made by World Athletics and the World Anti-Doping Agency Naser was handed a two-year ban from June 2021 to February 2023 over missed drug tests Zane Duquemin: “Coach the person and not the event” Ben Connor rejects GB selection after being asked to pay to compete The Kingston leg of Grand Slam Track featured the likes of Olympians Gabby Thomas and Kenny Bednarek If there was ever a year when Marita Koch's long-standing women's 400m world record of 46.70s was under threat, Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser currently tops the list to break it following her jaw-dropping run of 48.67s at the inaugural Grand Slam Track in Kingston on Day 2 The super-talented speedster produced the individual performance of the meet so far when she stunned a quality field with an unmatchable lead from the gun and only slowed after crossing the line to take the women’s 400m victory I was so mad with myself because I knew I could do better,” said an awestruck Naser who only managed a fourth-place finish in the 200m event on Day 1 Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred held off World 200m champion Shericka Jackson in the women’s 300m at the Miramar Invitational Her exceptional run followed up her season opener in Buyaguane last week she became the first woman in history to clock the fastest 400m time in March and April Salwa Eid Naser ran the fastest women's 400m ever run in March with a blistering 48.94s to open her 2025 outdoor campaign having finished second in a massive Personal Best (PB) of 49.14s to pocket the overall top prize of $100,000 after accumulating 20 points over two events with Naser finishing second overall with 17 points Salwa E Naser takes the women long sprint in a sensational world 48.67.Gabby Thomas was second in 49.14 and Paulinho was third in 49.35 pic.twitter.com/JQYql9FkcB The Paris Olympic 200m champion walked away as the undisputed Slam queen of the women's long sprint amassing the needed points to finish top and claim the prize reward Her 20 points were accumulated by winning the 200m on Day 1 in 22.62 seconds and added 8 for finishing second in the 400m OLYMPIC 200M CHAMP GABBY THOMAS BEATS OLYMPIC 400M CHAMP MARILEIDY PAULINO IN THE 400M TO WIN $100,000!!! 😱 @itsgabbyt pic.twitter.com/ikd1oLutWk The next city for the Grand Slam venue will be in Miramar Florida from May 2nd - 4th where Naser will aim for the top prize ahead of Thomas while Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino will be gunning for revenge against her rivals Former champion has hailed Evra ahead of his MMA debut Paris Saint-Germain's top scoring forward is a doubt for the Champions League semi-final second leg clash against Arsenal FIFA has relegated one African club over match-fixing allegations Time and where to watch Nigeria's Efe Ajagba take on Congo's Martin Bakole in a fight for African boxing king Time and where to watch Flying Eagles of Nigeria's 2nd U20 AFCON group game against Young Atlas Lions of Morocco Former England player who rejected the chance to represent the Nigerian national team now wants to replace Eric Chelle See what fans are saying about the robbery of Nigerian boxer Efe Ajagba against Congolese star Martin Bakole as Battle of Africa ends in a draw Artificial intelligence weighs in on the speculations surrounding Victor Osimhen's future Some of the world's most famous athletes traded jerseys for jaw-dropping couture at the 2025 Met Gala The gorgeous red carpet looks of Olympic champions Sha'Carri Richardson Here's how world 100m champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist Sha'Carri Richardson showed up at the 2025 Met Gala Paris Olympics bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was surprised by her cousin serving in the US Army who flew in from Korea to watch her become Grand Slam Track champion in Miami Nigeria's Star Girl Favour Ofili made her long-awaited debut at the Grand Slam Track in Miami and earned herself a whooping sum of $25,000 For the second consecutive Diamond League meet Akani Simbine took down a strong field to win the men's 100m event at the Shanghai Diamond League Jamaican track legend Usain Bolt finally has a response on the viral conversation of racing Kylian Mbappe and Gareth Bale as fastest footballers Melissa Jefferson-Wooden wants to write her name in the history books by being among the best following her impressive run at the Grand Slam Track in Miami Olympic 100m bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden clocked a stunning 10.75s (2.4) to take the 100m win at Grand Slam Track in Miami Olympic champion Masai Russell clocked a new American Record and second-fastest time in history to win the women's 100mH event at the Grand Slam Track in Miramar World 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson featured in a WHOOP star-studded ad alongside Liverpool football captain Virgil van Dijk and other sporting stars Former world champion Tobi Amusan is listed to compete at the Shanghai Diamond League where she'll be gunning to return to new ways Preview of men's 100m event at Shanghai Diamond League featuring Akani Simbine Olympic champion Gabby Thomas made a surprising reference with ATHLOS over Grand Slam Track as 'changing the game' after World Athletics Ultimate Championship big money reveal Usain Bolt opened up on his first first stardom experience and how he would talk to his kids on greatness The World Athletics Ultimate Championship isn't just going to be a gathering of stars but the champions are set to split a whooping prize purse of $10 million Yemen – “I firmly believe that if a woman is educated she can make better-informed decisions,” explains Salwa the principal of Khawla bint Al-Azwar School in Ma’rib Salwa harboured dreams of becoming a teacher and supporting girls in their academic pursuits she turned her dream into a reality and became a math teacher in her hometown Despite the responsibility of caring for her sick husband and their five children Salwa persevered in her passion for teaching the nearly decade-long conflict in Yemen shattered the fulfilling life she had built for herself and her family “My children were all traumatized by the conflict and my husband faced mental health challenges and a back injury,” she recounts Salwa and her family were forced to leave the life they cherished in Hajjah and start over in Ma’rib the family had to sell their car – the only possession they had left – to rent a modest house With Salwa losing her job as a teacher and now taking on the role of the breadwinner for the family she turned to creating and selling handicrafts to make ends meet although things are no longer the same,” Salwa reflects “I’ve heard that many students dropped out of school.” In Yemen, over 2.4 million children have discontinued their education with almost a million dropping out since the conflict escalated in March 2015 Salwa continued searching for teaching opportunities in nearby schools in Ma’rib she learned that Khawla Secondary School for girls was looking for a math teacher classes were held in two shifts and three tents were set up in the yard to accommodate the growing number of students The UN estimates that since the conflict’s onset, over 2,000 schools have been damaged or repurposed, putting 8 million school-age children at risk of leaving the education system including more than 1 million displaced children Driven by enthusiasm and the need to support her family Salwa took on the challenge of teaching during both shifts she encountered many challenges due to administrative and infrastructure issues within the school Despite being the sole provider of primary and secondary education for girls in five displacement sites in Ma’rib Khawlah School struggled with an aging building and makeshift huts in the yard used as classrooms lacked proper ventilation and protection from the harsh weather conditions typical of Ma’rib Teachers found it challenging to provide adequate attention to students given the inconvenient environment while students faced difficulty understanding lessons in stifling summers or chilly winter put a strain on families unable to afford education expenses leading to a significant number of students parents restrict their daughters from continuing their education once they reach the fifth or sixth grade due to cultural constraints,” Salwa explains “I remember visiting my students’ houses practically begging parents to let their daughters continue studying.” Ever since Salwa moved with her family to Ma’rib seven years ago she has remained committed to strengthening the children’s education She is now the school’s principal and continues to advocate for the girls’ right to education we launched an awareness-raising campaign on the importance of education for parents hoping that they understand how crucial education is for girls.” Salwa’s dedication to supporting children’s education did not stop there; she also formed a school sponsoring system that covers education expenses for underprivileged and orphan children Both schoolteachers and financially stable families actively participated in sponsoring the children prompting the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to step in and provide urgent support to the educational facility IOM built three additional classrooms and four new latrines connected the school to a water source and maintained the water cooler aims to alleviate the strain caused by the high demand for education,” explains Jamal Al-Zuoraqi IOM’s Programme Field Assistant in Ma’rib we hoped to assist in reintegrating some of the students who had previously dropped out of school.” IOM also distributed dignity kits and school bags complete with stationery to the students the bags addressed a significant problem and encouraged many girls who had previously dropped out due to their families’ poor financial situation to return “The students were extremely happy with the bags they received,” she says “They felt relieved after the school expansion and the installation of fans in the classes We no longer have to worry about students getting sick or fainting because of the weather while studying in those huts They can now access clean water points when they are thirsty.” IOM is dedicated to upholding the right to education in vulnerable communities impacted by the conflict in Yemen IOM has rehabilitated and built 32 classrooms and temporary learning spaces for 24 schools in Ma’rib Salwa is grateful that her school can now accommodate more students who can complete their education “The rate of girls finishing their school education has risen significantly,” she concludes The Education in Emergency Project in Ma’rib is funded by EU Humanitarian Aid in the framework of IOM’s camp coordination and camp management activities This story was written by Mennatallah Homaid Senior Donor Visibility and Communications Assistant elevated OWk9s To watch the Mass live elevated OWk9s It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Salwa Issa who left this world peacefully on November 8 elevated OWk9s A fiercely independent woman embracing every moment with grace and determination finding solace and happiness in the warmth of summer and sunshine a place where she nurtured life and beauty with her caring hands Parks and green spaces were among her favourite places where she found peace and connection with nature Salwa was comforted by her unwavering faith in Jesus Christ Her deep spirituality was a source of strength and peace guiding her through life’s many challenges and joys and enduring love will be forever remembered by those who knew and loved her and all those she touched during her life will dearly miss her elevated OWk9s May she rest in eternal peace What beautiful words describing dear Salwa May she rest in eternal peace and may the family find comfort in the Lord Sincerest condolences to Fouad,Fadi and family Our deepest condolences for your loss .May she rest in peace God bless her soul rest in peace Salwa you were a good friend will always be remembered Salwa was a wonderful woman and a great friend I consider her my sister and was not prepared to lose her so suddenly Peace of Mind has never been so Affordable We are offering 0% interest for up to 48 months on the purchase of a grave Copyright Catholic Cemeteries & Funeral Services – Archdiocese of Toronto | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Olympics 400m champion Marileidy Paulino and silver medallist Salwa Eid Naser after the Paris 400m final Bahrain's track queen Salwa Eid Naser has laid down the biggest watch of the season after clocking a jaw-dropping opener of 48.94s to win the women's 400m event at the Felix Sanchez Classics in Bayaguana The 26-year-old took off to an unbelievable start with a cruise control of the 300m before powering home in the blistering time which is the fastest-ever 400m time recorded at this period in a season Watch Salwa Eid Naser 🇧🇭 run 48.94s in her 400m season opener at the Felix Sanchez Classic!The fastest 400m ever run in March.🤯World Record watch????? pic.twitter.com/Umd2F1JcpZ She finished miles ahead of Cuba's second-placed Roxana Gomez in 50.77s Naser only broke 49s once – to take the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 48.53s only five women ran faster than 48.94s last season it's her third-fastest career time behind her 2019 world title-winning performance of 48.14s and 48.53s in Paris Her exceptional season opener performance puts Naser on a watch to break Marita Koch's long-standing World Record of 47.60s setting the pace for something remarkable before and at the Tokyo World Championships in September Consequently, she has laid down the gauntlet on her readiness to be the woman to beat over the 200m and 400m events at Michael Johnson's inaugural Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston Celebrate the Holy month of Ramadan in an enchanting retreat where families come together Hilton Salwa Beach 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committed to making this Holy month of Ramadan truly special for our guests," said Rishab Sahney Commercial Director of Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas the celebrations continue with an Eid getaway Stay tuned to find out what promotions and activations the resort has in store visit salwabeachresort.qa or contact 44236666 Bahrain’s Olympic athlete Salwa Eid won the silver medal on Friday in the women’s 400 meters race with a time of 48.53 minutes at the Paris Games Eid’s win marked the second Bahraini medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics Eid said winning the olympic medal was a “dream come true.” She added” [It is] a testament to years of dedication and strong belief in myself This medal is not just mine; it belongs to Bahrain my country that has embraced and supported me throughout my journey.” Eid extended her gratitude to Bahrain and the Gulf country’s Olympic Committee and the athletic association for “their tireless efforts in nurturing talent and providing us with the resources to excel on the world stage.” “I hope that my journey serves as an inspiration to young athletes in Bahrain and beyond and the unwavering support of your community This is not just a medal; it’s a symbol of hope and a reminder that we can all achieve greatness when we dare to believe,” Eid said The female athlete said that the silver medal was as much hers as Bahrain’s Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino came first marking the first time in history a woman from the country has won an Olympic gold medal She raced to victory in 48.17 seconds in front of a near-capacity Stade de France crowd Volume 12 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1360330 There is increasing evidence that coronary artery wall shear stress (WSS) measurement provides useful prognostic information that allows prediction of adverse cardiovascular events Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been extensively used in research to measure vessel physiology and examine the role of the local haemodynamic forces on the evolution of atherosclerosis CFD modelling remains computationally expensive and time-consuming making its direct use in clinical practice inconvenient A number of studies have investigated the use of deep learning (DL) approaches for fast WSS prediction patient data were limited and most of them used synthetic data generation methods for developing the training set we implement 2 approaches for synthetic data generation and combine their output with real patient data in order to train a DL model with a U-net architecture for prediction of WSS in the coronary arteries The model achieved 6.03% Normalised Mean Absolute Error (NMAE) with inference taking only 0.35 s; making this solution time-efficient and clinically relevant several studies have investigated the use of deep learning (DL) approaches for fast WSS prediction DL has commonly been used in the medical imaging domain for fast data analysis. An example in the field of flow modelling is in image-based estimation of boundary conditions for blood flow problems, assisted by DL (Arzani et al., 2022). DL has also been used for biomedical problems in various stages of numerical modelling; some of which include automatic generation and quality assessment of meshes (Zhang et al., 2020) based on 3,429 training data sets including patient-specific (127) and synthetic data (3,302) However, DL-based prediction of WSS in stenosed coronary arteries using patient-specific geometries has not widely been studied, despite the fact that these are potentially highly clinically-relevant analyses. An earlier study used multi-layer perceptrons, multivariate linear regression, and convolutional neural networks to generate WSS values from 2,000 patient-based but idealized coronary artery geometry (Su et al., 2020) we apply a U-net-based DL prediction method to extract WSS in real patients’ stenosed coronary arteries the implementation of data augmentation methods in advance can be used in order to learn effectively from very few annotated data samples As patient data for training is limited in this study we used simple methods to generate synthetic data for training and evaluate method’s efficacy Patient and vessel characteristics (n = 50 We chose to use 7 input features from the original CFD data, as outlined in Table 2 Centreline-based features were mapped to the rectangular grid on the lumen border points on the lumen border on one cross-section have the same centreline-based features we calculate additional morphological features and standardised the data format as described in the Feature Engineering section Patient data features considered in DL model Centreline-based features are mapped to corresponding locations on the lumen border In addition to the features available as part of the original dataset we calculated a variety of geometrical features that may improve the predictive power of the model These features include the polar coordinates of the wall tangential and inner curvature vectors of the centreline Each new feature is calculated as follows: • Cylindrical coordinate: The polar coordinates include the radius (rw) and angle from reference starting point (θw). All vessel models have their centreline, and rw was calculated by subtracting the xcyczc coordinates of the centreline points from the xwywzw coordinates of each point on the lumen border. Based on this, we obtain a reference unit vector vr̂ef and a corresponding vector for each point vt̂mp. θw was calculated using Eq. 1: • Centreline Curvature: This is calculated using the Menger formula, as shown by Eq. 2 The Menger formula is applied to the centreline data for a patient and pi+1 are 3 consecutive points along the centreline and A reflects the area of the triangle that spans between pi−1 • Distance along centreline: This is calculated by taking the cumulative distance between each xcyczc • Tangential and inner curvature vectors: the tangential vector of each point along the centreline was calculated by taking the coordinate difference of adjacent centreline points The variation of normal vectors between adjacent centreline points was then calculated as the inner curvature This adds 6 variables (3 components of 2 vectors) The final set of input includes the original 7 features with 10 engineered features As the cardiac anatomy varies between individuals the various coronary arteries all of which have different contours and shapes were analysed together As their Cartesian coordinates would not be expected to mapped onto each other the proximal end of each vessel centreline was first shifted onto the origin (0 The vessels were then rotated to align the global centreline vector (i.e. the vector connecting the first and last point of the centreline) with the global Z-axis This was applied onto its coordinates such that all geometries ultimately align in the same plane the number of slices for each patient ranged from 24 to 77 The training data needs to conform to a consistent shape for all patients Accommodating the lowest common denominator would lead to a truncation and therefore loss of critical patient data We therefore interpolate the patient data to the maximum number of slices (77 slices) a U-net shaped architecture with pooling requires an even number for this dimension The increments at which the coronaries are sliced comprises in the range of 0.24–0.66 mm Data structure showing the data scanning direction: Starting point at θ=0 travels clockwise for each slice and along vessel from left to right and particularly those that are more private/secure (obfuscate real patient data) have driven studies into the generation of synthetic data It is important that the synthetic data follows the underlying distribution of the real data and captures correlations between features in order to be plausible there are no public datasets of arterial CFD that can be used for training Since in our study we have only 50 patients in scope it is essential to augment the training set by generating synthetic data In machine learning, and particularly in the case of images, there are many simple approaches that can be utilised to create a larger sample. These methods are referred to as data augmentation and involve transforming an image via shifting (horizontally or vertically), flipping (horizontally or vertically), rotating (clockwise or anti-clockwise), zooming in or out, and changing the brightness (Chlap et al., 2021) These methods can create more variation in the data and artificially expand the dataset Although the reversal of inlet and outlet may not be physiologically representative we examined the ratio of inlet and outlet radii which is 0.86 ± 0.12 and suggesting the tapering is not substantial Flipping remains a crucial step to avoid overfitting and creating a more general model we modified the geometry of the coronary artery and running the CFD analysis in ANSYS we were able to create realistic synthetic data by making 3 modifications to the original patient data After implementing the following modifications listed 550 synthetic patients were created that were used for training • Reverse inlet and outlet boundaries: The inlet and outlet boundaries were reversed (i.e. flipping was applied) for the original patient data whilst maintaining the original patient inlet velocity this created 1 new dataset per patient and overall 50 synthetic datasets • Modify inlet velocity: The velocity was modified for each patient to range from 0.05 to 0.25 m/s at 0.05 increments, aligning with ranges observed in literature (Marcus et al., 1999; Zafar et al., 2014) This resulted in 5 new datasets per patient and therefore 250 synthetic datasets • Combination: By combining the methods above and simultaneously changing both the inlet velocities while reversing the inlet and outlet boundaries we were able to generate another 5 datasets per patient and therefore an additional 250 synthetic datasets Of the total 600 patient dataset (50 real + 550 synthetic) 80% was used for training (40 real + 440 synthetic generated from those) and 20% was used as a test set (10 real patients) still used as part of the training process for hyperparameter tuning is automatically created once the training begins and comprises 20% of the training set (96 real/synthetic data mixture) It is important to note that the train/test split is completed at the real patient level such that only synthetic data associated with the 40 real patients (440 patients) can be used for training This is done in order to prevent leakage of information from the training set into the test set the model has not seen any information similar to the test patients Once all data creation and pre-processing was complete the neural network architecture was designed We adopted and modified the neural network architecture used in Gharleghi et al. (2020) by removing the concatenation with global features such as bifurcation angle, which is not relevant for our use case. We also added a spatial dropout layer in order to reduce overfitting of the model. The final neural network can be categorised as a U-Net and had an architecture shown in Figure 2 This network uses average pooling to scale the input data down to half of its resolution leading to a quarter representation of the original dataset The data is then passed through 2 convolutional layers where a 3 × 3 convolution was applied followed by up-sampling and concatenation with the higher resolution data Adam optimizer was then used in addition to a 10% spatial dropout as a regularization technique The activation function selected was ReLU such that the output is constrained to a positive value Neural network architecture for prediction of WSS in coronary artery As the loss function, we selected the mean squared error (MSE) although other similar studies in the literature, including Gharleghi et al. (2020) and Jordanski et al. (2018), typically adopt the mean absolute error (MAE). The MSE was calculated as per Eq. 3 τi represents the observed values (i.e. and τ̂i represents the predicted values (i.e. we are investigating patients with stenosis where WSS is significantly elevated Our choice of MSE is to better predict the peak WSS as it incurs a higher penalty when mismatched we also trained the model using MAE for comparison The computational resource utilised was an NVIDIA T4 Tensore Core GPU with 52GB RAM Training time is approximately 40 min on average Increasing infrastructure resources can lead to faster model training and inference The deep learning model was assessed for WSS prediction accuracy. We implement k-fold cross-validation with 5 folds, where the DL-based prediction of WSS for the 10 patient data left aside in Section 2.3 are compared against their original CFD-based WSS over 5 repeated training∼validation steps DL models are typically considered as a black box models, and the associations between particular inputs and outputs have not been formally investigated. However, as our work also aims to understand the mechanistic insight behind WSS profiles, explainability (xAI) techniques were used to quantitatively assess feature importance on a trained model. Many techniques exist that have been used in DL models such as Shapley values (Lundberg et al., 2017) however as this approach is computationally expensive we opted for the integrated gradients approach The results of the MSE on the test set are shown in Table 3 The mean absolute error (MAE) is also displayed to show how different the absolute value of the prediction is from the gold-standard the normalised mean absolute error (NMAE) is typically reported thus we include this metric in order to provide comparison with the other state-of-the-art methods The NMAE can be calculated by either dividing the MAE by the mean or by the difference between the maximum and minimum WSS where the difference in WSS is 33.33 Pa Table 3. Global model error evaluated for 10 test patients. The two groups of error values are based on different loss functions (MSE and MAE) used in training, and the error is also assessed based on both MSE and MAE. Summary statistics are provided for training patients for comparison (Meantr and SDtr). Full error statistics of training can be found in Supplementary Table S4 As previously mentioned, the model training with our data took on average 40 min. This means that it took less than 2.5 s per epoch; not impractically long in the current form, yet it can be accelerated even further in the future with additional infrastructure resources. Model training results are presented in the Supplementary Table S4 Prediction time was approximately 35 milliseconds which is many orders of magnitude faster than the CFD processing time which ranges from 20 min to approximately 3 h in our cases the model was able to predict the WSS on the test set to a NMAE of 6.03% with a standard deviation of 0.47% when normalised by the difference between the maximum and the minimum WSS demonstrating a correlation between the CFD-based and DL-based WSS values mean (centre) and max (right) predominant WSS in 3-mm segments along the vessels By scanning along the slices of data in the direction depicted by Figure 1, we can plot the WSS profile for a particular patient. Figure 4 illustrates the WSS profile for a patient in more detail the DL-predicted WSS values are plotted over the wall surface from proximal (left) to distal (right) and across the circumference of each cross-section WSS profile for one patient with predictions from MAE (red) vs The plotted data display the output of the model trained with MAE as the loss (red) and the MSE as the loss (green) along with the ground truth CFD-based WSS that are displayed in blue It is clear that the model trained by MSE predicts WSS that fits better to the ground truth Although the MAE result had a low overall error it did not capture the local variations of WSS as much as the MSE-based training This justifies the choice of MSE loss for model training Patient 7 appears to be the most curved/tortuous and having multiple stenosis sites which could have given the difficulty in the prediction of WSS by the DL model we observed that the prediction by the DL model underestimates WSS in the stenosis region and tends to overestimate otherwise Figure 5. Example 3D maps of predicted WSS, in comparison with original CFD-based WSS: Patient 3 with small prediction error (left) and Patient 7 with larger error (right). WSS maps of all 10 patients are shown in Supplementary Figure S10 Figure 6 shows the value of the 17 features based on the integrated gradients estimations The integrated gradients are calculated per each data point on the vascular wall surface and give an evaluation on how the input features contribute to the prediction In order to conduct an overall assessment of the model the samples need to be aggregated; the mean feature importance across all points along a vessel surface and the mean across all test patients are summed to have the final results Our findings indicate that the radius and inlet velocity are the most important features while the circumferential coordinate θ the components of centreline tangential and normal vectors tx and ny were found to be the less contributing features The positive and negative signs indicate whether the relationship between the input feature and the output feature (WSS) is positively correlated or inversely proportional Feature importance for deep learning model inputs aggregated over 10 test patients’ data Positive and negative scores represent positive and negative correlations similarly to statistical correlation coefficients The top six important features were then selected (velocity tangential vector in Y direction and normal vector in Z direction) and the model was retrained with MSE as the loss function the results are comparable to using the full set of features available This is because the model is placing a low weight on the remaining features as such they do not have a strong impact on the final prediction utilizing the full feature set (with MSE loss) results in an average MSE of 8.6 Pa2 and NMAE of 6.03%; thus still outperforming the experiment with the subset of features Gharleghi et al. (2020) generate a synthetic dataset out of 127 patients by modifying the bifurcation angle geometry and we took a simple approach by flipping the geometry in combination with changing the input velocity This results in 550 synthetic patients that were then used to train a DL model that can predict WSS with an accuracy that is similar to previous reports An advantage of the proposed method is that it does not require creation of vessel geometry and computational mesh generation These are time-consuming processes requiring up to 3 h to estimate the WSS patterns of a single new synthetic “model.” patients’ data are often associated with confidentiality concerns which may prevent the dataset from being shared with the research community future studies should try to combine the inclusion of larger clinical datasets and the creation of synthetic data from these data despite the fact that we included distinct stenoses Our results indeed indicate that velocity carries significant importance This makes a mechanistic sense since WSS on a tube wall is theoretically determined by the flow rate and radius assuming Newtonian fluid and parabolic velocity profile (τ=4μQπR3) Curvature as Menger curvature is not shown as significant but the components of centreline tangential and curvature vectors tx⃗ and nY⃗ were found to be relatively significant features along with the circumferential position θ indicating that the curved vascular geometry and relative location of the wall play a role in WSS distributions Further research is needed towards this direction and better understand WSS distribution different features may play a different role in disease-free and stenotic segments Future work is also needed to improve model performance and optimise DL architecture. The U-net approach used in this study is a well established approach, but it has been developed in 2015 (Ronneberger et al., 2015) and since then several other DL approaches have been introduced in cardiovascular research such as physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) (Raissi et al., 2019) and graph-neural networks (GNNs) (Scarselli et al., 2009) These DL architectures may enhance model performance Improvements to data augmentation in terms of quality and quantity can also be introduced additional features may be engineered such as torsion in order to enrich the data set and a finer level of granularity such as more slices per patient may be beneficial for achieving more realistic results in addition to generating a larger cohort of synthetic data a further deep dive into explainability should be considered in particular in the areas of stenosis compared to the rest of the artery This paper demonstrated for the first time that DL-based prediction of WSS is feasible and has overall high performance that is comparable with previously-reported studies based on idealised stenotic vessels The model used for prediction is inspired by a U-net architecture and achieves state-of-the-art performance at 6.03% NMAE Training time is under 2.5 s per epoch and inference is at the order of milliseconds making this a fast solution and an attractive alterative to current CFD analysis we demonstrate the impact of utilising the MSE rather than the MAE as a loss function for training model performance is explained via ranked feature importance calculated using the integrated gradients method Although the model currently provides inaccurate predictions for some patients and may not yet be applicable for clinical application it appears that it has the potential to replace the CFD-based WSS computation in clinical practice as it is computationally inexpensive and able to operate in real time The datasets for this article are not publicly available due to concerns regarding participant/patient anonymity Requests to access the datasets should be directed to the corresponding author All patient identifiable fields were removed prior analysis Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and institutional requirements The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research This research was funded in part by the Wellcome Trust (209553/Z/17/Z) the author has applied a CC-BY public copyright licence to any author accepted manuscript version arising from this submission Author PK was employed by company Medis Medical Imaging Systems BV The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2024.1360330/full#supplementary-material 1https://github.com/albermax/innvestigate Google Scholar “Chapter 32 - three-dimensional body shape modeling and posturography,” in DHM and posturography CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Machine learning for cardiovascular biomechanics modeling: challenges and beyond PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Principles and practice of explainable machine learning CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Statistical shape modeling for cavopulmonary assist device development: variability of vascular graft geometry and implications for hemodynamics PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Role of hemodynamic shear stress in cardiovascular disease PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar A review of medical image data augmentation techniques for deep learning applications PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar (2016) How much data is needed to train a medical image deep learning system to achieve necessary high accuracy? 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Ryo Torii, ci50b3JpaUB1Y2wuYWMudWs= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish. There was perhaps some gentle irony in Rhasidat Adeleke being promoted to third place in Friday night’s Diamond League final in Brussels after Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser was disqualified for a lane infringement although it was a visibly and understandably tiring end of season run over 400m by the Dublin sprinter Exactly five weeks after her fourth-place finish in the Olympics, and lining up against two of the medal winners from Paris, Adeleke finished in 50.96 seconds on a cool, damp evening inside the King Baudouin Stadium in the heart of the Belgian capital, far from conducive for fast running. Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic proved her dominance once again, winning in 49.45 seconds (taking the top prize of $30,000), well off the 48.25 the 27-year-old clocked to win the gold medal inside the Stade de France, though still unbeaten in the event this year. “Of course I would have loved to run faster and closer to my personal best, but it was really, really cold tonight,” said Paulino. “A decent race at the end of a very long season.” Starting in lane four, with Paulino in five, Naser in six, the 22-year-old Adeleke went out a little more cautiously than her last Diamond League run in Poland two weeks after Paris, though was still in contention for a top three place coming into the homestretch, alongside Naser, who won silver in Paris. Then Alexis Holmes from the US came darting through in lane three to nail second in 50.32, Adeleke originally ending up fourth, Naser holding on for third in 50.64, before her disqualification. Adeleke pocketed $7,000 for third. Naser won the Olympic silver in Paris in 48.53, her fastest time since returning from a two-year doping ban in 2021, and she’s still competing despite the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) imposing a 12-month ban on the Bahrain Athletics Association (BAA) for “serious anti-doping rule violations” and “historical breaches of the World Athletics anti-doping rules” just eight months before the Paris Olympics. Naser, along with all Bahrain athletes, were also disqualified from all World Athletics Series events for a year, although these don’t include the Diamond League. Holmes was contesting her first Diamond event and finished sixth in the Olympic final in Paris, the 24-year-old running a personal best of 49.77, before winning gold with the 4x400m relay. Still Adeleke’s long season clearly left her well running a little dry, having started her outdoor season over five months ago. One notable absentee was Natalia Kaczmarek from Poland, who edged Adeleke out of the Olympic bronze medal and had already called closing time on her season. Interestingly, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, the Olympic champion and world record holder in the 400m hurdles from the US, who had hoped to attempt a 200m-400m double this weekend, had to settle for the invitational race, which she won in a faster time of 49.10 seconds, well over a second ahead of Stacey Ann Williams from Jamaica, who took second there in 50.33. Adeleke duly qualified for Friday’s 400m final by virtue of several Diamond League appearances over the summer, including a victory in Monaco back on July 12th, where she ran 49.17 seconds – although she hasn’t run faster since. Adeleke’s training partner Julien Alfed from St Lucia, who won Olympic gold in the 100m, showed little sign of tiredness here as she won in 10.88, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway also won the 1,500m in 3:30.37, Cole Hocker from the US, who won gold in Paris, third in 3:30.94. Ian O'Riordan is an Irish Times sports journalist writing on athletics Facebook pageTwitter feed© 2025 The Irish Times DAC Doha: Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas has launched a 72-hour flash sale offering an incredible 33% savings on the Best Flex rate This exclusive offer is only available to book for a limited period between September 8 – 10 for stays up to March 31 making it the perfect opportunity to book your dream getaway Whether you are looking for an exciting family getaway or a romantic couples escape this is your chance to enjoy an unforgettable escape to Qatar’s premier beachfront destination here are 10 irresistible reasons why Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas should be your next destination: Relaxation Meets Adventure Close to Home: Situated along 3.5 kilometres of pristine coastline just one hour from Doha’s Hamad International Airport this expansive beachfront resort offers the perfect blend of relaxation and excitement Thrills and Spills at Desert Falls Water & Adventure Park: With 19 attractions and 30 exhilarating rides Desert Falls is one of the largest waterparks in the Middle East From high-speed slides and the wave pool to the lazy river and surf simulator this is a thrill-seeker’s paradise for all ages Exclusive Ladies Day at the Waterpark: Every Wednesday ladies-only experience at Desert Falls from 3pm to 9pm Complimentary for resort guests and available to visitors for QR195 this popular event is the perfect chance to socialize and enjoy the park’s top attractions in a comfortable environment Canyon Jumping Adventure: Embark on an adrenaline-packed adventure at the Middle East’s first man-made canyoning course Dolphin Watching Cruise: Set sail on a memorable family-friendly adventure to spot playful dolphins along the stunning coastline Modern Arabic Cuisine: Treat your taste buds to contemporary Arabic flavours at Levantine where traditional dishes are given a fresh Private Villas with Butler Service: Opt for the ultimate lavish retreat and book one of the resort’s beachfront villas making it the perfect space to relax and celebrate with family In-Villa Spa Treatments: Relax with indulgent in-villa treatments where skilled therapists bring the spa experience to you – perfect for ultimate relaxation Italian Perfection at Dante: Savour authentic Italian dishes in a picturesque setting at Dante Cucina Italiana perfect for a romantic evening or family celebration Kids Club Fun: The dedicated Kids Club offers a variety of fun activities to keep little entertained enabling parents to relax safe in the knowledge that they are in great handed little ones are in safe hands they have the chance to meet the resort’s beloved mascots – Lenny and Sandy – who always add an extra touch of joy to the day For more information, visit Salwabeachresort.qa or contact at 4423 6666 Hotelier Middle East Home » Appointments » Hilton Salwa Beach Resort announces new GM for Desert Falls Water & Adventure Park Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas has appointed Adam Du Plooy as the new general manager for Desert Falls Water & Adventure Park Desert Falls is one of the largest theme parks in the Middle East Desert Falls incorporates Sea Caves Waterpark which features 19 attractions and 30 rides It is also home to Qatar’s only canyoning experience ‌Du Plooy said: “I am thrilled to join Desert Falls Water & Adventure Park at this exciting time This park is not just a premier waterpark but a hub of exhilarating activities and family fun I look forward to working with the talented team to enhance our offerings and ensure every guest has an exceptional and unforgettable experience.” ‌Du Plooy brings over 25 years of global experience having started his career in 1998 as a junior operations manager at a South African waterpark he joined Wild Wadi Waterpark in Dubai as a lifeguard and advanced to operations manager His Middle Eastern experience continued with roles at Jumeirah Beach Resort and Spa and he contributed to the pre-opening of the National Aquatic Center in Dublin in 2004 He later managed the Valley of Waves at Sun International before returning to the region and Wild Wadi in 2013 playing a key role in launching Laguna Waterpark at La Mer Dubai in 2018 he was senior manager of slope operations at Ski Dubai the park will continue to emphasise safety and fun building on its recent achievement of the industry’s highest safety accolade with a Platinum Award from Ellis and Associates which highlights Desert Fall’s dedication to maintaining the highest health and safety standards Du Plooy’s goal is to build on the achievements of the past three years and to enhance the park’s reputation for excellence Join in for a full day of fun and entertainment at Salwa Beach Fest on 4 April 2025 Note: The entry charge of QR 200 per adult is fully redeemable on food and drinks This family-friendly beach carnival is an ideal way to celebrate the Eid holiday and the best of the West Coast’s sunny weather Source: Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas Note: The details mentioned in this event listing are sourced from the organizers' official announcements and are subject to change Please check with the organizer directly before making plans If you have anything you want to share with us, send us an e-mail at [email protected] Want to send a tip? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] You have successfully registered your account Your post will appear after we take a quick look SHREWSBURY — Get ready to sip some coffee with a shot of community-building That’s the combination Kader Kapadia and his wife Salwa Zakaria hope to bring to customers when they open MOTW Coffee & Pastries in Shrewsbury It’s the first MOTW franchise scheduled to open in Massachusetts doors will open to the public in mid- to late late July in the Marketplace shopping center MOTW Coffee is a franchise that grew out of an Instagram account, @muslimsoftheworld, started by Sajjad Shah when anti-Muslim sentiments were “alarmingly high,” according to the company’s website Shah’s Instagram account has more than 700,000 followers (including Kapadia and Zakaria) "My wife and I have had a passion for coffee for as long as we can remember,” said Kapadia Both Kapadia and Zakaria work full-time in health care information technology so after spending considerable time at the shop when it first opens they will hand over much of the duties to a management team and a set of baristas One of the baristas will be the couple’s 17-year-old daughter Kapadia's favorite coffee drink is a caffè americano especially when hosting parties in their Andover home the company’s humanitarian mission was a reason why he and his wife invested in the business The company's website says it has raised millions of dollars for worthy causes from medical care to providing shelter in Yemen and Ethiopia “Super excited” is how Kapadia described his feelings opening the first Massachusetts location “It’s meant to be a place to socialize and get know one another in the community.”  Kapadia said board games will be in the shop Standup comedy nights could be part of the lineup besides a full range of coffee drinks and pastries Place to hang out“Unconventional” was a word Kapadia used to describe the business He said that unlike competitors that are grab-and-go operations he wants customers to hang out and get to know each other The Massachusetts location will be the seventh in MOTW’s nationwide lineup Connecticut; another near Chicago; and four in the Indianapolis area Kapadia and Zakaria visited one of the Indianapolis shops last summer the couple thought about opening a franchise in Massachusetts to meld their passion for coffee with joining the company’s humanitarian mission “It’s how we fell into this,” said Kapadia Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram. Saudi designer Honayda Serafi makes history with Saks Fifth Avenue debut Sign in In-depth Interviews with Authorities in Business, Pop Culture, Wellness, Social Impact, and Tech. We use interviews to draw out stories that are both empowering and actionable. Listen Grit — You will be told your idea has been done before You will be told you’re not differentiated enough social media comments that will feel so personal You will make mistakes that feel like the end of the world You will need grit to pick yourself back up and continue forward As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders” I had the pleasure of interviewing Salwa Khan Salwa Khan is the Founder and CEO of Cubbiekit a sustainable baby basics subscription that aims to make modern parenting easier while giving back and minimizing waste A highly analytical and strategic professional with a passion for problem solving it’s no surprise Khan pursued a solution to the many stressors of new parents Her passion for giving back and minimizing waste is what drives her mission for Cubbiekit with a goal to extend the life of each garment diverting as much clothing from landfills as possible With a background in corporate finance and busy mom of two she’s also heavily involved with the Young Women’s Alliance of Austin and Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network our readers would like to get to know you a bit more Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory” What led you to this particular career path I’ve followed an established playbook since starting my career and fully intended on seeing it through worked in corporate for 8 years in various finance roles and never foresaw myself becoming an entrepreneur I’m an introvert (hence the accounting) and always saw myself just advancing in corporate finance — I was good at it As I started working my way up and had my first pregnancy I imagined that things would get easier as my career progressed There was a never-ending to-do list and I was constantly prioritizing my work list while creating a backlog of all the things I had to do at home “when I had time.” When I was pregnant for the second time (I had my son during the beginning of the pandemic) I was still working full-time with both my kids at home without childcare my husband was the breadwinner of the family and I realized just how much I had been putting off I was very frustrated with the amount of time I spent shopping for the kids how much “stuff” I had accumulated for them I really wanted to take ownership over my time again After maternity leave I started working on Cubbiekit as a solution to a simple but very frustrating problem and I never looked back Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company The truth is I’m an introvert and avoid “interesting” scenarios driven by social anxiety I have found that in doing so I’ve been cold emailing notable retail and ecommerce industry leaders to make connections I’ve been able to have zoom calls with really prominent founders and thought leaders just from a simple cold-email or Linkedin invitation It’s interesting how real founders are willing to share their experiences and pay it forward Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that Mistakes don’t feel funny when you’re in the thick of it as a first-time founder I over-analyze every single thing that led me to that mistake I believe you absolutely learn from your mistakes but I don’t think I’m at the point yet where I can laugh about them None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are for 4 years before I started my company Cubbiekit we referred to ourselves as the KS Family (#ksfam) It was a place where there was an open-door policy at all levels The network and relationships I built from the c-suite down to the associate level have helped me tremendously and I know that I can always find someone through that network for mentorship and guidance otherwise I might have the whole company roster here Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles? I believe that until there is more female representation on the investing side or more men willing to take risks on women with potential and not demonstrated performance, there will continue to be a challenge for women to start and scale businesses. This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders? What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean? Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean? Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are the “Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder?” (Please share a story or example for each.) How have you used your success to make the world a better place? You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. Kirsten Green from Forerunner Ventures. It’s not a secret that she’s a pioneer in identifying and investing in modern consumer brands. Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this. Candice Georgiadis is an active mother of three as well as a designer, founder, social media expert, and philanthropist. Help Research and Discovery Sidahmed began her plant-based journey after watching two documentaries in high school one focused on the environmental impacts of meat consumption and the other on the ethical implications of widescale factory farming she joined the Vegan and Animal Advocacy Society which prompted her transition to a vegan diet her Watson Fellowship considers both ethical and environmental implications of plant-based practices Her project will contemplate the effect of plant-based practices on building greater community as well as the cultural and economic sides of the issue “I honestly don’t want to limit [my project] to one specific path because the topic is inherently broad and open and I want to keep my mindset that way too,” Sidahmed said a national fellowship awarded to graduating seniors from 41 partner institutions will provide Sidahmed a $40,000 stipend to explore her passion abroad She is currently working on building contacts in each country — farmers indigenous organizations — from whom she will learn She anticipates these contacts will help guide what she does and where she goes in the country each of which she specifically chose for its unique lens on plant-based practices and sustainability “I wanted to have a diverse array of experiences and relationships to animal agriculture and vegan-vegetarian practice in general,” Sidahmed said She’ll begin her year-long journey in the United Kingdom which has a long cultural and economic history of relying on animal agriculture overlaid by a strong contemporary vegan movement She chose Morocco because it is the most climate-forward country in the Middle East North African region With large environmental justice movements in this country she hopes to learn how food sovereignty and restructuring global food systems can offer a mode of environmental justice Taiwan was chosen for its large Buddhist population which aligns with a general practice of vegetarian/veganism and helps make it the “vegan capital of Asia.”  Majors: Social Justice and Sustainability (Interdisciplinary Major) and French and Francophone Studies she’ll visit Australia and New Zealand Australia offers an interesting case: it is the second highest consumer of meat per capita in the world but it also faces large environmental vulnerabilities Sidahmed wants to learn how animal agriculture fits into Australia’s sustainability practices and goals she chose New Zealand as a place to explore indigenous environmentalism through learning about Maori conceptions of land and sustainability I’m really looking forward to building community with the people in the communities I visit,” Sidahmed said “I’m also coming from a very limited Western perspective so I’m really excited to learn about different cultures’ relationships to agriculture and food.” Sidahmed leaves for London on July 16 and will not return to the United States until the following July “I’m really excited to be able to explore something that I’m interested in and passionate about from completely different lenses,” Sidahmed said “I’ve never had exposure to a lot of these views and probably never would have without the opportunity of the Watson,” she added Dewayne Martin ’24 has been awarded a 2023 Truman Scholarship the nation’s premiere scholarship for students interested in pursuing public service Martin becomes the second Hamilton student to receive the award created in 1975; the first was Frederick Nelson in 1978 In its second meeting of the 2022-23 academic year the Hamilton chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elected 15 members of the Class of 2023 Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas is about to launch the flash sale everyone’s been waiting for enjoy an exclusive 33% OFF on room & villa rates including breakfast and waterpark access – an offer that’s guaranteed to fill up fast You have from 20 – 22 April 2025 to secure your spot for stays until 23 October 2025 – and with rates starting at just QR 805 on weekdays and QR 1075 on weekends there’s no better time to book your dream getaway.  This sale is the ultimate chance for travelers to escape to paradise without breaking the bank Whether you’re craving a beachside retreat or a luxurious escape with your loved ones Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas has it all But don’t wait – this offer won’t last long An Unmatched Beachfront Escape: Picture yourself on 3.5 kilometers of pristine coastline and adventure enthusiasts alike – all at your fingertips.2 Thrill-Seeker’s Dream – Desert Falls Water & Adventure Park: With over 19 attractions and 30 thrilling rides Desert Falls is the ultimate adrenaline playground for the whole family and exhilarating slides – the waterpark is the perfect blend of fun and adventure.3 This One’s for You – Exclusive Waterpark Days: Every Wednesday starting 7 May 2025 indulge in the exclusive Ladies Day experience at Desert Falls offering a ladies-only retreat from 3 pm to 9 pm Enjoy the park's top attractions with your friends in a relaxed and private environment – free for resort guests!4 Adrenaline-Pumping Canyon Jumping Adventure: Experience the first-ever man-made canyoning course in the Middle East this adventure will take your thrill-seeking to the next level!5 Dolphin-Watching Cruise – Family Fun Awaits: Set sail on a memorable dolphin-watching cruise where you can spot playful dolphins against the stunning backdrop of the Arabian Gulf.6 Signature Dining at World-Class Restaurants: Indulge your taste buds at some of the region’s top restaurants From contemporary Arabic cuisine to authentic Italian and vibrant Asian flavours Private Villas with Butler Service: Opt for the ultimate luxury escape in one of the resort’s exclusive beachfront villas plus a stunning rooftop terrace for the ultimate family getaway.8 Relaxing Treatments at the Award-Winning eforea Spa: Rejuvenate and unwind with an array of luxurious treatments at the spa From HydraFacial and soothing massages to invigorating Hammam rituals and Rebalance therapies discover the perfect escape for your body and mind.9 Kid-Friendly Fun with the Kids Club: Let the little ones enjoy endless fun at the Kids Club with tons of activities and the chance to meet our beloved mascots It’s the perfect opportunity for parents to relax knowing their children are in good hands.10 Incredible Sports Academy – Unleash Your Competitive Spirit: Stay active with our state-of-the-art sports academy Whether you’re a sports enthusiast or just looking to have some fun Mark Your Calendars and Get Ready to Book Your Dream Stay and this flash sale is bound to sell out fast.  this is your chance to grab a limited-time deal at Hilton Salwa Beach Resort & Villas before it’s gone and make sure to book your stay before time runs out!  Visit www.salwabeachresort.qa or call +974 4423 6666 to secure your booking today If you have anything you want to share with us, send us an e-mail at [email protected] Want to send a tip? Drop us an e-mail at [email protected] We bring life-saving relief in emergencies and use food assistance to build peace stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict disasters and the impact of climate change bringing life-saving assistance in emergencies and supporting sustainable and resilient livelihoods to achieve a world with zero hunger We work in over 120 countries and territories combining emergency assistance with long-term development while adapting our activities to the context and challenges of each location and its people There is a variety of ways in which people can support WFP’s mission to eliminate hunger from making a donation to bringing your expertise to our work on the frontlines in southwestern South Sudan – a town known for its agriculture and fertile lands – teenager Salwa and her mother “My mother struggled a lot and even now she works very hard to pay my school fees and bring us food every day,” she says “This makes me want to go to school and study very hard to help her in the future.”  Along with raising her children and two sisters “I had a lot of problems before," says Martin "I didn’t have enough money to pay school fees and my children were falling sick because there was not enough food in the house.”  She also contributes to improving access to community roads Both activities are part of a joint project to build resilience run by UNICEF and WFP and funded by the German Development Bank which includes training in such areas as post-harvest management and business has been rolled out in urban areas of South Sudan like Yambio It aims to enhance access to safe learning spaces turning dreams into stepping stones for a brighter future “Now my children eat at least two meals every day and school fees are a priority,” Martin says is not something everyone can do in this East African country where 7.1 million people are food insecure and 1.65 million children are malnourished South Sudan also has some of the world's lowest literacy rates WFP school meals ensure students eat at least one nutritious meal daily and promote attendance This is especially important for girls like Salwa - as 40 percent of girls in South Sudan marry before the age of 18 drop out of school and miss out on higher education is part of the resilience-building initiative  Schools like hers where WFP provides school meals to more than 1,400 students - are not only teaching subjects like science but are also offering essential life skills and empowerment Gender equality and awareness about gender-based violence – for both girls and boys – are integral parts of the curriculum They ensure a well-rounded education that prepares students for the challenges of the real world and helps build more equitable communities Salwa's education includes practical agricultural skills which supplements the WFP meals with fresh fruits and vegetables “I use what I learn at school to take care of our vegetable garden at home,” she says.  The family’s now flourishing garden provides nutritious food and extra income earned from selling the surplus produce But Salwa doesn’t want to be a farmer when she grows up.  “My favorite subject is science,” she says “I like it a lot because I want to be a doctor in the future and help people.” College: College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Major/minor: National security and foreign affairs Plans after graduation: Interning with U.S Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and working full-time as an analyst with Pallas Advisors After learning she is the 2023 College of Liberal Arts and Human Science's Outstanding Senior the first person Salwa Balla told was her mom Balla never expected when she first arrived in Blacksburg in 2019 that she would become the confident and outspoken person she is today Balla began her time at Virginia Tech as a biology major but she realized she wanted to study subjects that resonate with her personally Those are national security and foreign affairs and international public policy “It’s something I was always interested in — diplomacy compromise — and using communication to solve international problems,” Balla said of her major choices “I wanted to see how I could use my opportunities and resources here to go into a field where I can make a difference in Sudan.” she participated in Model UN — a simulation of the UN General Assembly which also sparked her interest in international public policy The simulations allow students to perform as ambassadors and debate current event topics The first time Balla traveled to Blacksburg was for Hokie Focus a one-day event for students with admission offers to learn more about the university “The moment I stepped on the campus and looked around I knew this was where I was supposed to be,” Balla said “It was just the feeling of campus and the friendliness of everyone here that really drew me toward going to Virginia Tech.” Balla spent time studying and interning in the nation’s capital as part of Virginia Tech’s Washington Semester in Global Engagement during spring 2022 She interned with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center and human development issues in the Middle East “I learned a lot about myself,” Balla said “Like what I’m like in the workforce outside of my role as a student The same semester, she also worked as an undergraduate researcher for the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons through Viginia Tech's Diplomacy Lab program Balla is currently participating in a fellowship with Pallas Advisors She spent last summer studying abroad in France through Accents the University of Savoie Mont Blanc's French language education center She also attended the 2022 German Marshall Fund's Brussels Forum in Belgium a platform for global leaders and policy makers to debate pressing global challenges and shape the transatlantic agenda Balla is involved with the Black Cultural Center and the Coalition for Refugee Resettlement Balla hopes her education and experiences will lead her to a career focused on public diplomacy and potentially her time in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences has helped her build confidence “If you told me four years ago where I’d be today “Taking classes about subjects I’m very passionate about gave me the drive and the push to throw my ideas out there And the friends I made in college really helped me come out of my shell and grow into the person I am today.” Balla recalls taking the course Nations and Nationalities, taught by Weisband in spring 2020 after she had just switched her major A lesson on tribal body scarification caught Balla’s attention After sharing with Weisband that her grandmothers had scarification on their faces he asked Balla to share more about the subject with the class “I’m not exaggerating when I say that class changed my whole viewpoint of life in general,” Balla said and you know it means a lot to him to teach students about the concept of identity Balla will spend two months interning with Clark through College to Congress a program that will cover all of her expenses she will immediately begin a full-time position as an analyst with Pallas Advisors Virginia Tech demonstrates impact as a global land grant – progressing sustainability in our community Get Directions  See All Locations  Contact Virginia Tech  © 2025 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University