Maldivian sprinter Hassan Saaid has become the first Maldivian to win an Olympics heat and qualify for the next round.
The athlete won first place in the second heat of the men’s 100m preliminaries in the Rio Olympics on Saturday, completing the race in 10:43 seconds.
Saaid has been training at the International Association of Athletics Federations (AAF) High Performance Training Centre (HPTC) in Jamaica since 2012.
He broke the national record and won a silver medal at the South Asian Games in India earlier this year, completing the men’s 100m sprint in 10:41 seconds.
In 2015 he won the 100m relay in the Indian Ocean Island Games becoming the first Maldivian to win a gold medal at such an event.