Salwa Eid Naser

Sports Career of Salwa Eid Naser | Salwa Eid Naser Biography

Salwa Eid Naser, originally named Ebelechukwu Antoinette Agbapuonwu, was born on May 23, 1998, in Onitsha, Anambra, Nigeria. Her family relocated to Bahrain when she was a child, and she officially started competing for Bahrain in 2014.

Naser achieved early success in her sport, winning the 2014 Arab Junior Championships in the 200-meter and the 400-meter, and then winning silver at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. The next year, in 2015, she won the World Youth Championships in Colombia.  

Naser qualified for the 2016 Olympics as an 18-year-old. Despite being the second youngest woman in the event, she made it to the semi-finals of the 400-meter with a new personal best of 50.88 seconds.

The next year, she won silver in the 400-meter at the World Championships and then dipped under the 50-second barrier for the first time when she ran 49.88 seconds at the Bruxelles Memorial Van Damme Diamond League meeting, less than a month later.

In 2018, Naser was almost unbeatable. She won her first eight meets of the season, including four Diamond League meetings. Her winning streak eventually came to an end when she finished second at the Monaco Diamond League to Shaunae Mille-Uibo. However, she would go on to win every other meeting that year in her individual events, including the Diamond League final and Asian Games. The next time she lost a race in an individual event wasn’t until May 2019 in the 200-meter. She wouldn’t lose a race in the final of an individual 400-meter race until 2023.  

Naser continued to dominate in 2019, winning five medals at the Asian Championships in Jakarta and dropping her personal best in the 400-meter to 48.14 seconds at the World Athletics Championships in Doha. She captured her first World Championship gold medal, and her time was the fastest run in more than three decades. She also became the youngest female World Champion in the event.

Salwa Eid Naser Suspension

In June 2020, Naser faced a provisional suspension for three missed drug tests and one filing failure over the course of a year. Though initially cleared by a tribunal in October 2020, the decision was appealed by World Athletics and WADA. In June 2021, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the appeal, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport Panel released the following statement:

“All competitive results obtained by Ms Salwa Eid Naser from 25 November 2019 through to the date of notification of the CAS award shall be disqualified, with all of the resulting consequences, including forfeiture of any medals, titles, ranking points and prize and appearance money.”

She was also issued two years of ineligibility starting from June 30, 2021.

Salwa Eid Naser Return | Salwa Eid Naser 2024 Olympics

Upon her return in 2023, Naser contested the 100-meter, running 11.60 seconds in Miami. She went on to win the Asian Games in the 200-meter and finish second in the 400-meter.

At her Olympic return for the first time in eight years, Naser ran 49.91 seconds to win her heats. She cruised through the semi-finals as well with a time of 49.08 seconds. In the final, she ran 48.53 seconds, one of the fastest times of her career, but finished second to Marileidy Paulino.

Naser won the 400 meters at the inaugural Grand Slam Track meeting in Kingston, Jamaica in 2025, running a time of 48.67 seconds. She went on to run 48.19 seconds at the World Championships in Tokyo, only 0.11 seconds off her personal best. Although this time would normally win, she had to settle for third behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Paulino.

Salwa Eid Naser Personal Life and Other Facts

Salwa Eid Naser was born in Nigeria with the name Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu. She switched her nationality to Bahraini in 2014 at the age of 16, as well as converted to Islam and changed her name.

When she was 11 years old, she won her first competitive race at school in the 100-meter and later the 400-meter. In a 2025 interview with World Athletics, she said, “When I finished, I felt so bad I thought I never wanted to run another 400m again because it was so stressful.”

Salwa Eid Naser FAQS | Salwa Eid Naser

Who are Salwa Eid Naser’s parents | Salwa Eid Naser father

Naser’s father was Bahraini born. Her mother is from Nigeria and competed in the short sprints in school.

Who is Salwa Eid Naser’s Coach?

Salwa Eid Naser has worked with several coaches. When she was a teenager, she worked with the Bulgarian coach Yanko Bratanov, then later with Nigerian-Bahraini coach John George Obeya. Obeya called her, “The most talented athlete I’ve coached.”

Salwa Eid Naser is now coached by Jose Rubio, a Dominican coach based in Miami.

Salwa Eid Naser Sponser

In February 2024, Naser signed with the sports marketing agency CLD Sports Global.

Salwa Eid Naser Medals

Salwa Eid Naser has won medals at multiple major championships, including the Olympics and World Championships. She won gold at the World Championships in 2019. She’s also a three-time Diamond League Final winner.