MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman’s athletes Ali al Balushi and Mulham al Balushi made history at the ongoing Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, with the pair completing a silver-bronze finish for the country in the blue riband event of men’s 100 metres on Friday.
It was the first ever occasion of Oman taking the silver and bronze together in an event at the Asian Games.
The Oman Olympic Committee described it as an “Omani pride on the Aichi-Nagoya track.”
The silver and bronze by the Omani sprint pair were the first medals for Oman in the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Ali al Balushi clocked 10.04 seconds and Mulham al Balushi (10.11) made their dream finish at the Paloma Mizuho Sports Park in Nagoya to put Oman in the medal tally. The timings were the personal best performances for the Omani sprinters.
This achievement adds to the Sultanate of Oman’s record at the Asian Games, where it had previously won six medals: one gold, one silver, and four bronze.
Previously, the 2022 Hangzhou Games produced Oman’s highest medal haul at a single Asian Games, with two medals. The Oman Olympic Committee described it as the country’s best result since its Asian Games debut.
In the 2010 Guangzhou Games, Omani sprinting great Barakat al Harthi won a bronze in the men’s 100m.
Oman’s silver medallist Ali al Balushi and bronze medallist Mulham al Balushi celebrate after the men’s 100m final at the Asian Games – Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Nagoya, Japan.
In Nagoya, Thailand’s Puripol Boonson crossed the finish line in a Games-record 9.90 seconds for the men’s 100m title, having run 9.91 in the semifinals.
The 20-year-old Puripol’s semifinal run of 9.91sec had eclipsed the 9.92 sec by China’s Su Bingtian at the 2018 edition in Jakarta.
China’s Chen Yujie won the women’s 100m in a Games-record 11.06sec to relegate the Hangzhou gold medallist, Singapore’s Shanti Pereira (11.21), to the silver. Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong took bronze in 11.33.
Mulham qualified for the final after finishing second in the heats with a time of 10.13 seconds, trailing Boonson, who finished the heats in 9.91 seconds. Meanwhile, Ali qualified for the semifinals by topping his heat with a time of 10.01 seconds, ahead of China’s Zheng Zhi, who finished second with a time of 10.18 seconds.
The final featured nine runners, including the Omani duo, Boonson, South Korea’s Daniel Bewesa and Joelgin Nwamadi, China’s Cheng Zhi and Malaysia’s Muhammad Muhammad.
Oman’s medal winners in Asian Games
1986 Seoul – Bronze: Mohammed al Malki, men’s 400m (athletics)
1990 Beijing – Gold: Mohammed al Malki, men’s 400m (athletics)
1998 Bangkok – Bronze: Oman, men’s 4×100m relay
2010 Guangzhou – Bronze: Barakat al Harthi, men’s 100m
2022 Hangzhou – Silver: Musab al Hadi and Waleed al Kindi, men’s 49er sailing
2022 Hangzhou – Bronze: Husain al Farsi, men’s 800m (athletics)
2026 Aichi-Nagoya — Silver: Ali al Balushi, men’s 100m
2026 Aichi-Nagoya — Bronze: Mulham al Balushi, men’s 100m
