PARIS: Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning sports scene received a boost after 16-year-old swimmer Zaid Al-Saraaj came first in his men’s 100m freestyle heat at the 2024 Paris Olympics. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport While the teenager, the youngest member of the Kingdom’s delegation, did not progress to the next stage of the competition, he set a new personal best with a time of 51.21 seconds. Al-Saraaj earned his place at the Games through a universality spot — a place offered to under-represented National Olympic Committees to increase the diversity of participating nations. Earlier on Sunday, 17-year-old Mashael Al-Ayed finished sixth in her women’s 200m freestyle heat with a time of 2:19.61. The Saudi Olympic team, a 10-strong group comprising seven men and three women, is competing across four sports — athletics, equestrian, swimming and taekwondo. Previously, Saudi athletes have taken four medals across 12 Olympic Games. The most recent was a silver won by Tareq Hamedi in karate at Tokyo in 2020.