Standing ovation for hijab-wearing Saudi woman athlete as she finishes Olympic 800m heat

Daily Mail ^ | 9th August 2012 | Adam Shergold

[the scotsman]

'They say in the Olympics it's not the winning that counts, but the taking part.

And that was certainly the case this morning as Sarah Attar, the first female track athlete to compete for Saudi Arabia in the Olympics, was cheered every step of the way in her 800m heat.

In the end, she completed the two laps of the track nearly 45 seconds behind the winner, but her participation alone represented an historic moment.

Attar completed the two laps of the 800m in a time of two minutes 44.95 seconds, nearly 45 seconds behind the leader

Dressed in a long-sleeved green training top, long jogging bottoms and a white hijab, she certainly stood out on the start line in sweltering heat in the Olympic Stadium.

And it was quickly obvious that Attar wasn't going to be able to keep pace with the rest of the field as she fell a long way behind.

But whatever the sport, Olympic crowds love a plucky trier and Attar was given a standing ovation as she crossed the finish line, almost a full lap behind the others.'

[relictele]

Very well stated.

[HamiltonJay]

The 45 seconds have nothing to do with Habib... the 45 seconds have to do with she comes from a nation where women are effectively CHATTLE, the very idea a woman from such a nation could realistically compete with or without a Habib is dillusional.

Still it may be a step forward for the repressive nation to even allow women to go to the games to compete.. even if it is in a getup that ensure that even if they somehow did have the personal talent and ability they would never be able to win.. but still its a small step forward.

[JimRed]

Its like a science fair competition and one contestant brings a box of rocks.

Hey, I represent that remark! Sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous, properly labeled, sandstone and mudstone showing layers and how depostiton conditions affect the final outcome, that could be an interesting display. Throw in a few fossils and you've got a winner!

;^)

[JimRed]

This isn't even politically-correct nonsense; it's a lie.

Just a little taqiyya, for the advancement of Islam; Allah forgives. < /sarc >

[pepsi_junkie]

I’m surprised this woman was allowed to compete at all. I have family that used to live in Kuwait and the stories they told about life for women in Saudi was heartbreaking.

Remember that old picture on National Geographic cover that showed a young Afghan girl in an orphanage back in the 1980s or early 1990s? She had amazing green eyes and looked sad, very compelling image. Well they found her again, all grown up and did an update. She talked about how the burqa is a wonderful thing, how life was better under the taliban, stuff like that. The arab/muslim mind is simply foreign to westerners.

[dfwgator]

Here’s the medal battle worth watching.

USA/Great Britain ——— 62 Golds 37 Silver 39 Bronze - 138 Medals
China/Russia -————— 49 Golds 44 Silver 42 Bronze - 135 Medals

Go Anglosphere!