WACO, Texas (April 19) – Bahraini sprinter Salwa Eid Naser, the 2019 world 400-meter champion, is set to make her season debut at the 2023 Michael Johnson Invitational, which will be held at Baylor University’s Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium on April 21-22. The star quarter-miler, who was banned for two years for missing out-of-competition tests, will compete in both the 100m and 200m dashes.
Naser’s two-year ineligibility period ended on February 2, 2023, and the 24-year-old will test her fitness in the shorter sprinting events this weekend. The Bahraini athlete missed the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, due to an anti-doping violation, which involved missing out-of-competition tests. Read more: Michael Johnson Calls For 4-year Ban For Missed Tests
The Nigerian-born sprinter, who owns a personal best of 11.24 seconds for the 100m and 22.51 seconds over the 200m, will face a strong field at the Michael Johnson Invitational, including American sprint star Abby Steiner, the double relay gold medal winner at the world championships last summer, and Jamaica’s Ashanti Moore.
In 2019, Naser set a national record of 48.14 seconds to win the world 400m in Doha. She also won a silver medal in the 400m at the 2017 world championships, as well as being a World Youth Champion in 2015 and a three-time Asian Games champion.
The Michael Johnson Invitational is set to be a thrilling event, featuring top athletes from around the world. World-Track will be providing key results coverage of the competition, so stay tuned for more updates.
