Saudi female runner relishing marathon dream

Pioneer Saudi sportswoman Sarah al-Attar has already raced at the Olympics, but now her campaign will become a marathon as she uses the Rio Games to break down barriers in the conservative kingdom

Rio De Janeiro: Pioneer Saudi sportswoman Sarah al-Attar has already raced at the Olympics, but now her campaign will become a marathon as she uses the Rio Games to break down barriers in the conservative kingdom.

Sarah al-Attar competes in the 800m heats during the 2012 London Games. Pic/AFP

Attar turned heads in the head-to-toe outfit she patched together with her mother to race in the 800 metres at the 2012 London Games, where she was one of the first Saudi women Olympians. This time Attar, now 23, will take on the gruelling 42 kilometer marathon race in Rio, where four Saudi women will take part. The women and seven Saudi men arrived in Rio on Monday, but were kept away from prying media.

Gender divisions are so sensitive that the Saudi Olympic Committee website did not name the women who will represent the country. Along with Attar, they are judoka Wujud Fahmi, fencer Lubna al-Omair and 100m runner Cariman Abu al-Jadail.

Attar has no regrets and no doubts about running in London and Rio. “I was going for the women in Saudi Arabia, for all the young girls to have someone in the Olympics representing them, giving them a picture of something they could one day strive for,” she said in a recent article for the Like The Wind runners’ magazine. Attar finished last in her 800 metres heat in London. She still got a standing ovation when she crossed the line.

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