Rio Olympics 2016: History made in Brazil as 100m sprinters from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan run in their hijabs

KARIM ABUJADAYEL became the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in the Olympics’ 100m on Friday, making history in Rio de Janeiro by sporting a hijab for the sprint.

And she has been joined by Afghanistan runner Kamia Yousufi – who also took part in the women’s 100m.

Despite their lack of success on the track – finishing second-last and last in their heats respectively – the pair have been praised heavily on social media for their performances.

The Middle Eastern duo’s performances follow the historic London 2012 appearance of Sarah Attar – who became the first Saudi Arabian woman and hijab-wearer ever to compete in the Olympics.

Twitter users compared Abuljadayel and Yousufi’s outfits to the famous green and white body suit worn by Australian runner Cathy Freeman when winning the 400m gold at Sydney 2000.

Saudi Arabia were threatened with an Olympic ban if they went through with their exclusion of women, leading to Attar’s groundbreaking debut in the 800m four years ago.

But Saudi Arabian culture meant only one newspaper mentioned her moment in history – and was criticised in many parts of society for the snub.

But now, the nation has another hero in Abuljadayel, while Afghanistan can be proud of Yousufi.

The Saudi Arabian, 22, completed her race in 14.61 seconds, while Yousufi clocked 14.02 seconds in her sprint.