Omar Jouma Bilal Al-Salfa, ar, عمر جمعة بلال السالفة, (born 15 October 1989) is a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete from the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

who competes in

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

ing events. He was a gold medallist at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, China in 2009. Results Men's results Track Field Women's results Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * ...

and represented his country at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

. He made his first appearances at major competitions in 2007: he took the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

over

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

at the

Military World Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A w ...

in October and then came fourth at the

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Game ...

with a national record-breaking run of 20.94 seconds.Omar Juma Al-Salfa
Tilastopaja Oy. Retrieved on 2010-12-28. He turned to the indoor circuit at the start of the following season and came fourth at the

2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was an international indoor athletics event took place in Doha, Qatar, between 14 and 16 February. Results Men Women Medal table Participating nations A total of 29 nations were represented by ...

with a national record of 6.81 seconds for the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

. He was selected for the

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7–9, 2008. Bid Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, R ...

and ran in the heats. Outdoors he set a national junior record of 10.53 seconds to take the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

title at that year's Arab Junior Championships that, and also went on to win the 200 m

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. At the

2008 Asian Junior Athletics Championships The 2008 Asian Junior Athletics Championships was the 13th edition of the international athletics competition for Asian under-20 athletes, organised by the Asian Athletics Association. It took place from 12 to 15 July at the Madya Stadium in Jak ...

he took the gold in the 200 m. He reached the 200 m final at the

2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2008 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz in Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 8 and 13 July 2008. Previously Bydgoszcz hosted t ...

and gained a place on the Olympic team for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, where he competed in the heats stage of the event. He improved his 200 m record to 20.72 seconds with a win at the Gulf Championships in May 2009. He competed at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

and reached the quarter-finals on his debut appearance at the competition. A fourth-place finish over 60 m at the

2009 Asian Indoor Games The 2009 Asian Indoor Games ( vi, Đại hội Thể thao Trong nhà châu Á 2009), officially the 3rd Asian Indoor Games ( vi, Đại hội Thể thao Trong nhà châu Á lần thứ 3) and also known as Vietnam 2009, were a pancontinential indoo ...

(with a personal best of 6.72 seconds) was followed by a bronze medal with the Emirati team in the

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

. Al-Salfa won his first major senior title at the

, just dipping ahead of

Shinji Takahira is a Japanese sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres.

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to win the Asian 200 m title. In 2010 he made his first appearance on the

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

circuit running a wind-assisted 10.35 seconds in the 100 m at the

Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix The Doha Diamond League is an annual one-day track and field meeting held at the Suheim bin Hamad Stadium The Suheim bin Hamad Stadium (), also known as Qatar SC Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is currently used mostly for ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. He claimed the 200 m

behind Nigerian-born

Femi Ogunode Femi Seun Ogunode (born 15 May 1991 in Ondo City) is a Nigerian-born sprint athlete who competes internationally for Qatar since 2010. His personal best of 9.91 at 100 m in 2015 made him the former holder of the Asian 100m record, which was ...

and Japan's

Kenji Fujimitsu is a Japanese sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres. He is a one-time Asian champion and two-time national champion in the event and has a personal best of 20.13 seconds. He is also a bronze medalist in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the 20 ...

at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

.Ogunode and Fukushima complete doubles in Guangzhou – Asian Games, Day 5
IAAF. (2010-11-26). Retrieved 2019-10-08.

Major competition record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salfa, Omar Juma Al- 1989 births Living people Emirati male sprinters Olympic athletes for the United Arab Emirates Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for the United Arab Emirates Asian Games bronze medalists for the United Arab Emirates Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Athletics Championships winners