OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (June 25) – Salwa Eid Naser, the 2019 World Champion in the women’s 400 meters, is set to advance her season’s preparation at the 2023 Golden Spike track and field meet in Ostrava on Tuesday (27). The event, featuring several global medalists, is one of the highlights of the 2023 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series.
Salwa Eid Naser return continues
Naser will be competing in a 400m field that includes Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek, fresh off a second-place finish behind Femke Bol at the European Athletics Team Championships in Silesia 2023 last week.
Naser, who captured gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, has been progressively improving her times since returning to competition following a two-year suspension for whereabouts failures.
The Bahraini sprinter enters this meet with a season-best time of 49.78 seconds, having also clocked 49.95 seconds for a second sub-50 second performance in 2023.
Entering the 2023 Golden Spike race as the fastest contender, and with a personal best of 48.14 seconds, the 25-year-old Naser is a without doubt the one to beat in the upcoming Ostrava race.
Kaczmarek hopes to improve on Silesia time
Nevertheless, Kaczmarek of Poland, a sub-50 seconds runner at her peak, has already gone as fast as 50.02 seconds this season, and will be challenging for the top spot. After running 50.34secs to take second place behind Bol at Silesia 2023, Kaczmarek revealed that she wasn’t pleased about her time.
“I’m quite happy about my place but I can not say that about the time,” she said in her post race interview.
Meanwhile, the lineup in Ostrava, also includes Great Britain’s Laviai Nielsen, boasting a personal best of 50.83 seconds, as well as Miranda Charlene Coetzee of South Africa, who has clocked a season and personal best of 50.90 seconds this this year.
Naser’s performance in Ostrava will serve as another gauge of her form ahead of the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August.
The women’s 400 meters race at the 2023 Golden Spike is slated to commence at 18:20 local time on Tuesday. TIME TABLE
Women’s 400 meters at the 2023 Golden Spike in Ostrava:
| Athlete | Country | SB (Season Best) | PB (Personal Best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carys McAulay | GBR | 51.57 seconds | 51.57 seconds |
| Laviai Nielsen | GBR | 51.43 seconds | 50.83 seconds |
| Tereza Petržilková | CZE | 51.95 seconds | 51.51 seconds |
| Miranda Charlene Coetzee | RSA | 50.90 seconds | 50.90 seconds |
| Salwa Eid Naser | BRN | 49.78 seconds | 48.14 seconds |
| Natalia Kaczmarek | POL | 50.02 seconds | 49.86 seconds |
| Lada Vondrová | CZE | 51.14 seconds | 51.13 seconds |
| Sharlene Mawdsley | IRL | 51.34 seconds | 51.34 seconds |
