Salwa Eid Naser ran the fastest women's 400m ever run in March with a blistering 48.94s to open her 2025 outdoor campaign. Bahrain's track queen Salwa Eid Naser has laid down the biggest watch of the season after clocking a jaw-dropping opener of 48.94s to win the women's 400m event at the Felix Sanchez Classics in Bayaguana. The 26-year-old took off to an unbelievable start with a cruise control of the 300m, before powering home in the blistering time, which is the fastest-ever 400m time recorded at this period in a season. She finished miles ahead of Cuba's second-placed Roxana Gomez in 50.77s, while Anabel Medina was third in 52.05s. Last year, Naser only broke 49s once – to take the silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 48.53s. For context, only five women ran faster than 48.94s last season, including the Bahraini sprinter. In addition, it's her third-fastest career time behind her 2019 world title-winning performance of 48.14s and 48.53s in Paris. Her exceptional season opener performance puts Naser on a watch to break Marita Koch's long-standing World Record of 47.60s, setting the pace for something remarkable before and at the Tokyo World Championships in September. Consequently, she has laid down the gauntlet on her readiness to be the woman to beat over the 200m and 400m events at Michael Johnson's inaugural Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston, Jamaica next week.