After a dream summer that saw her place fourth in the 400m hurdles at the World Athletics U20 Championships and clinch gold at the Asian Games, Emirati teenager Mariam Kareem is still trying to wrap her head around everything she has accomplished over the past couple of months.
The 18-year-old hurdler started her season running 57.39 seconds at a Grand Prix in Addis Ababa in April and finished it with a stunning 54.31s to top the podium at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, two weeks ago.
The time Kareem clocked in Japan didn’t just earn her the gold medal; it also saw her set an Asian Games record in the 400m hurdles, as well as a new Asian U20 record.
In August, Kareem, who is based in Sharjah, clocked a time of 56.27s to place fourth at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, finishing just 0.28s shy of the podium.
She felt confident she would be fast at the Asian Games the following month, but never expected she would be able to shave nearly two seconds off her time to secure the gold.
“I would say it was an unexpected thing for me,” a smiling Kareem told The National.
“After the Eugene World Juniors, I had a lot of training, a lot of sessions, a lot of correction. So I was expecting a very fast time, but not that fast or a gold medal. In Japan, I had a lot of ups and downs there. I really struggled with the time zone change.
“I was tense, I was scared. I was a bit sick, but thank Allah for everything. I just had to put everything behind me and focus on my personal events.”
Kareem’s success in Nagoya made headlines, not just in the UAE, but across the region, and she was given quite the reception when she returned to the Emirates, both at the airport and at a special event held by her sponsors 'On' to celebrate her historic gold medal.
“I'm still taking everything slowly. There's a lot of people around, a lot of messages, a lot of congratulations, a lot of places I've been to. It's my first time being in this situation, so I'm taking it easy,” said Kareem.
“It really took me by surprise. I’m just trying to wrap my head around all the news, the messages, and to keep on doing the good work. I really hope I can keep up with the work and continue.”
Things have been happening fast for Kareem. It was just three years ago that she was scouted by the UAE Athletics Federation, which saw potential in her when she was competing at her high school in Dubai and at her local club.
Kareem, who liked running but wasn’t really into competing, was encouraged by a coach from the federation to take athletics seriously. She was barely 16 at the time.
“He was really a great mentor for me,” Kareem recalls. “He advised me; he talked to me like a father. He told me, ‘Continue training; I believe you have a potential in you. You can go far. There's a bright future ahead’.
“I was not really into athletics. I just loved running, but not really that passionate to compete at the high level. So he talked me into it.”
Kareem initially ran 200m and 400m flat, but urged by her coach, who saw she had the height and flexibility, switched to the 400m hurdles, which has become her signature event.
“Representing my country with pride, it was something that I really wanted to do. So I was happy to. I'm going out there, coming back with medals, representing my country, raising the country flag,” she said.
“So I was really happy and excited and I love doing it. So I'm going to continue doing it and keep on the good work.”
Kareem is achieving what no Emirati woman has achieved before, and she is well aware that there is the potential to make history every time she steps on the track.
“For now, there is no pressure, but it's still giving me motivation to go forward, to do more and so that at least our country can be up in the world,” she explained.
“My aim is to continue raising the national flag up and keep making names for the country before anybody can come and take the place from me. Because I cannot be here forever. So, there's still going to be young athletes that can still come from here.”
Kareem is the fifth of six siblings, none of whom are athletes. She jokes that they all want to start running now that they’re witnessing her success. Her mother has been her biggest supporter from day one, and she remembers her father being sceptical of her running career at first.
That scepticism has since dissipated, and her father was the first to call to congratulate her when she took gold in Nagoya.
I'd like to go the Olympics, the World Championship, the Asian Championship. So, just hope to compete and to work hard
Mariam Kareem
“After I collected the medal, my dad called and he was so proud of me, was so excited,” she revealed. “Coming from a family like that, and I'm making names, going far, he’s like, ‘Ah, I should have supported her when I had the chance’. I was like, ‘It's OK, you still have the chance, I'm very young, you can still support me’,” she added with a laugh.
Kareem is now enjoying some well-deserved downtime during this offseason before she starts training again for her upcoming goals.
“Getting the gold medal in the Asian Games and the Games record has given me the confidence that I can still achieve a lot in the future. So I want to improve my performances and go to compete at the higher level,” she said.
“I'd like to go the Olympics, the World Championship, the Asian Championship. So, just hope to compete and to work hard. Not just to compete, I want to go there and have fun, be the best, and be at the podium. So, that's just my aims for the future.”
Before the LA 2028 Olympics, Kareem is hoping she can compete in the Diamond League in 2027 to line up against the world’s best for an entire season. She immediately lights up when asked which athlete she'd most like to meet if she makes the Olympics.
“Sydney [McLaughlin-Levrone]. I'd love to meet her. She's a role model to me,” she says with a grin.
“The fact that she can do anything. She can play in 400 flat, 400 hurdles; she can do multiple events. And she doesn't look like she's doing more, but she's giving all her best. It feels like she's not doing anything.
“I want to be like her, at least make names, have a lot, the world records, six-time world record. I really hope to be at the LA Olympics, so that at least I can see her and compete with her at the lanes. So that's my biggest dream right now, to compete with her, yes.”
In the span of three years, Kareem went from being a kid who loved running but was not too keen on competing to being an Asian Games champion and Asian U20 record holder.
What were her biggest lessons during this transformation?
“Athletics taught me a lot. Taught me discipline, taught me patience, taught me consistency. I think I've learnt a lot,” she says.
“I've learnt how to stay consistent in what I'm doing and keep doing what I love and keep making names, keep going forward. From one minute to another, now I'm [running] 54, so that is consistency.
“I keep on training, I keep on believing in myself, my coach, my teammates, our training. I know I can go further, I can run very fast. So I just have learnt that consistency is the key.”