# Salwa Eid Naser
**Salwa Eid Naser** (full name Salwa Eid Naser Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu; born 1998) is a Nigerian-born Bahraini sprinter who specializes in the 400 meters and won the world title at the 2019 [World Athletics Championships](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-athletics-championships) in Doha with 48.14, an Asian record that ranks her among the fastest women in the event's history.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442) • [2](https://worldathletics.org/news/report/world-championships-doha-2019-women-400m-repo) • [3](https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/d601179c-fa73-474f-b191-8d2e88e5c5e2.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1998; Nigerian-born citizen of Bahrain, based in Riffa[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442) • [4](https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/salwa-eid-naser-400m) |
| Personal best | 400 m, 48.14 (Asian and Bahraini record), Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, 3 October 2019[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442) • [5](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/662bb9cc912fb20b60776847.pdf) |
| Historical rank | Third-fastest woman in history over 400 m, behind Marita Koch (47.60, 1985) and Jarmila Kratochvilova (47.99, 1983)[2](https://worldathletics.org/news/report/world-championships-doha-2019-women-400m-repo) • [6](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/news/salwa-naser-shaunae-miller-uibo-world-champs) |
| Major titles | World champion 2019 (Doha); world silver 2017 (London, 50.06); Olympic silver Paris 2024 (48.53); world bronze Tokyo 2025 (48.19)[7](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6859881e8523a6ab817c49c1.pdf) • [8](https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7153115?eventId=10229511&gender=W) • [9](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/world-athletics-championships-tokyo-2025-7190593/country/bahrain) |
| Other bests | 200 m 22.45 (29 March 2025); 4x100 m relay 42.73 (Bahraini record, 2018); mixed 4x400 m relay 3:11.82 (Asian and Bahraini record, 2019)[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442) |
| Doping sanction | Two-year ban from June 2021 for whereabouts failures, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed upon upholding the appeals of World Athletics and WADA; she missed the Tokyo Olympics[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/57671562) • [11](https://jurisprudence.tas-cas.org/pdf/7526%2C%207559.pdf) • [15](https://www.tas-cas.org/generated/assets/lists/dceab111-07bc-435f-b5f9-de88eff9db72/CAS_Media_Release_7526_7559_.pdf) |
| Progression | End-of-year personal bests from 2014: 52.74, 51.39, 50.88, 49.88, 49.08, 48.14[12](https://trackandfieldnews.com/article/salwa-eid-naser-blazes-to-the-top-of-the-400-heap/) |
## Early life and junior career
Naser was born in Nigeria and moved with her family to [Bahrain](https://www.edgepedia.org/bahrain), the small island kingdom in the [Persian Gulf](https://www.edgepedia.org/persian-gulf), when she was young. Her mother had sprinted at school over 100 m and 200 m, and Naser discovered her own speed as a child in Riffa, Bahrain's second-largest city, where she is based.[4](https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/salwa-eid-naser-400m)
Her first international title came at the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, where she won the girls' 400 m in 51.50, then the world junior-leading time.[4](https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/salwa-eid-naser-400m) Two years later, still a teenager, she took silver in the 400 m at the 2017 World Championships in London in 50.06.[7](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6859881e8523a6ab817c49c1.pdf)
## Doha 2019
**The breakthrough race.** In the final at Doha on 3 October 2019, at age 21, Naser ran 48.14, almost a full second faster than her previous best of 49.08, to win gold ahead of Shaunae Miller-Uibo, who ran 48.37. Only [Marita Koch](https://www.edgepedia.org/marita-koch), with 47.60 at the 1985 IAAF World Cup in Canberra, and Jarmila Kratochvilova, with 47.99 at the first World Championships in Helsinki in 1983, had run faster.[6](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/news/salwa-naser-shaunae-miller-uibo-world-champs) Track & Field News described the suddenness of her rise as the only surprise, noting her steady yearly improvement from 52.74 in 2014 to 48.14 in 2019.[12](https://trackandfieldnews.com/article/salwa-eid-naser-blazes-to-the-top-of-the-400-heap/) The same year she was named one of BBC's 100 Women of 2019.[7](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6859881e8523a6ab817c49c1.pdf)
## Doping case and suspension
**Whereabouts failures.** Naser was charged with an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.4 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, which covers a combination of three whereabouts failures within 12 months: a filing failure effective 1 January 2019, a missed test on 12 March 2019, and a missed test on 12 April 2019. In October 2020 the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal found she had not committed the violation, but the [Court of Arbitration for Sport](https://www.edgepedia.org/court-of-arbitration-for-sport) upheld appeals by [World Athletics](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-athletics) and the [World Anti-Doping Agency](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-anti-doping-agency) in an award of 30 June 2021. The panel found she had shown an unacceptable degree of nonchalance toward her whereabouts obligations and imposed the standard two-year period of ineligibility, refusing to backdate it.[11](https://jurisprudence.tas-cas.org/pdf/7526%2C%207559.pdf) As a result she missed the Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021.[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/57671562)
## Comeback
**Paris 2024.** After the ban, Naser returned to international competition and won silver in the 400 m at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in 48.53.[8](https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7153115?eventId=10229511&gender=W) She also set a 200 m personal best of 22.45 on 29 March 2025 and a 300 m best of 35.85 on 9 August 2025.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442)
**Tokyo 2025 and after.** At the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo she finished third in the 400 m final in 48.19, adding a world bronze to her collection.[9](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/world-athletics-championships-tokyo-2025-7190593/country/bahrain) In 2026 she won a second [Asian Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/asian-games) 400 m title at the Asian Games in Nagoya, adding to a career that includes the world championship gold, the Olympic silver, and the Asian record of 48.14.[13](https://athleticsindia.com/salwa-eid-naser-asian-games-400m-gold/)
## Records and standing
Naser's 48.14 stands as the Asian and Bahraini record over 400 m, and she also holds Bahraini records over 200 m and in the 4x100 m relay, plus the Asian record in the mixed 4x400 m relay.[1](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442) • [14](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/salwa-eid-naser/9915) Her 48.14 remains the closest any woman has come to Marita Koch's 47.60 world record in recent decades, a point frequently raised in debates about the standing of the 1980s records.[6](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/news/salwa-naser-shaunae-miller-uibo-world-champs) Her suspension for whereabouts failures remains part of how the sport and the public weigh that achievement.[10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/57671562) • [15](https://www.tas-cas.org/generated/assets/lists/dceab111-07bc-435f-b5f9-de88eff9db72/CAS_Media_Release_7526_7559_.pdf)
## References
1. [Salwa Eid NASER, Profile, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14643442)
2. [Report: women's 400m, IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/news/report/world-championships-doha-2019-women-400m-repo)
3. [IAAF competition biographical cards, media.aws.iaaf.org](https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/d601179c-fa73-474f-b191-8d2e88e5c5e2.pdf)
4. [Naser takes a tip from George Michael and gets 400m gold in Cali, World Athletics (2015)](https://worldathletics.org/news/feature/salwa-eid-naser-400m)
5. [Women's 400 Metres records document, World Athletics](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/662bb9cc912fb20b60776847.pdf)
6. [Naser vs Miller-Uibo race latest in long line of 400m upsets, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/news/salwa-naser-shaunae-miller-uibo-world-champs)
7. [Women's 400 Metres Final, 24.06.2025, World Athletics PDF](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6859881e8523a6ab817c49c1.pdf)
8. [The XXXIII Olympic Games results, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7153115?eventId=10229511&gender=W)
9. [Country Bahrain, World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025](https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/world-athletics-championships-tokyo-2025-7190593/country/bahrain)
10. [Salwa Eid Naser: World 400m champion to miss Olympics following two-year ban, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/57671562)
11. [CAS 2020/A/7526 World Athletics v. Salwa Eid Naser & CAS 2020/A/7559 WADA v. WA & Salwa Eid Naser, award of 30 June 2021](https://jurisprudence.tas-cas.org/pdf/7526%2C%207559.pdf)
12. [Salwa Eid Naser Blazes To The Top Of The 400 Heap, Track & Field News](https://trackandfieldnews.com/article/salwa-eid-naser-blazes-to-the-top-of-the-400-heap/)
13. [Salwa Eid Naser Wins Asian Games 400m Gold, Athletics India](https://athleticsindia.com/salwa-eid-naser-asian-games-400m-gold/)
14. [Salwa Eid Naser, fiche athlète, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/salwa-eid-naser/9915)
15. [CAS Media Release 7526 7559 .pdf, tas-cas.org](https://www.tas-cas.org/generated/assets/lists/dceab111-07bc-435f-b5f9-de88eff9db72/CAS_Media_Release_7526_7559_.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Sprinters and hurdlers › Quarter-mile runners*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license