QT #1: We're sure some will find aspects of the whole thing to criticize but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
QT #2: From a running standpoint, putting her in the 800 is ideal as you start from lanes so she wont get in the way of the top people and the race doesn't take too long.
It's a start.
Does she even speak Arabic?
Cheap cider wrote:
It's a start.
It's not a start. It's a sham.
NPR had a story recently about female activists in Saudi Arabia. When asked about the woman competing at the Olympics (at the time only one was set to compete), one of the activists said she didn't care because, while a Saudi woman competing looked good to the rest of the world, it didn't do anything for the rights and freedoms of women actually living in Saudi Arabia.
The ruling class of Saudi Arabia will hold these two women up and say "look how progressive we are" while within the kingdom women and girls can't drive, travel without a male, or even compete at sports. Why do you think the two Saudi athletes are foreigners?
From the video she looks faster than a 2:40 800m runner.
And to think, the liberals would welcome these Islamists with open arms to our country.
Islam is not a religion. It's a political system designed to subjugate women and breed ignorant jihadists ready to die for their cowardly leaders.
And why in the world is a 2:40 girl running the 800 at the Olympics? This is the Olympics! She wouldn't even compete for a medal at the JV level around here.
STFU, there is no reason to make this political at all.
I can run faster than the male equivalent of all those times. Where is my spot in the Olympics?
Dennis Reynolds wrote:
STFU, there is no reason to make this political at all.
Are you kidding? this is an issue that is inherently and undeniably political.
Heck, there are 5 girls on my high school team faster than that. Who's the slowest male distance olympian?
Let's be honest here. Attar is not really Saudi. Yes, she is half Saudi by birth but has she ever lived or even visited Saudi Arabia? She was born and raised in the US and she has an American mindset. It would mean more if a Saudi woman, born ans raised in Saudi Arabia, and was at a least a 2:15ish 800 m runner, actually competed in the Olympics.
Yes. No Saudi will not appreciate this because she is too slow.
Perhaps one o the reasons the Saudi gov't allowed Atter to compete is because she is so slow and will get eliminated in the first round. The last thing the Saudi gov't would want would be for a legit elite Saudi female runner to reach an Olympic final and receive lots of press coverage.
For comparison, the well-known Dana Hills high School team has qualifying standards for track:
EVENT 10th - 12th Grade 9th Grade
100 Meters 13.5 Seconds 14.2 Seconds
400 Meters 65.0 Seconds 68.0 Seconds
800 Meters 2:44.9 2:59.9
1600 Meters 6:44.9 6:59.9
Long Jump 14'0" 13'6"
High Jump 4'4" 4'2"
Shot Put 29'0" 25'0"
Discus 85'0" 60'0"
Pole Vault 8'0" 7'0"
In the 800 at least, she is just BARELY fast enough to make this high school team.
I find it a bit odd that while she is attending a Christian university that she will play along with the demands that she obeys the Sharia laws of dress demanded by Saudi Arabia reps. to go to the Olympics.
It seems like it would make more sense for her to go to a public state college or UC school or Zaytuna College.
Sham or not, it's progress. Even if it is political, at some point women had to start somewhere.
I have no problem with the time. The Olympics is not only about the Gold medal but about bringing the world together. Yes there are many faster but this is bigger than a 2:40. And im sure she'll run faster than 2:40.
That said it is odd they chose an athlete from America, at a Christian school. Perhaps some political influence from the U.S.?
Even more strange is letsruns reporting. This is a good story but they seemed more interested in seeing pictures in running shorts. Who cares? Employee #1 needs to work on writing news worthy articles.
Isn't the rule that a country can send one athlete in one event, even though they don't meet Olympic standards?
I knew someone who "almost" represented Guam in the Olympics until he got hurt. Most people were impressed by this, but the reality was that Guam sent a runner in two events (I think one female, one male) and the events they chose were the marathon and the 400m hurdles. The guy didn't have to meet any standard - he just happened to agree to run that event and move to Guam.
Saudi probably figured that sending a woman in the 800m was a good choice, even though the athlete they chose isn't really an 800m runner and it sounds like she is better at the 5k.
The situation of using "foreign" athletes to represent small countries at the Olympics probably isn't that unusual.
I can't see how this constitutes progress for Saudi women. Sarah Attar is pretty young, and I don't know where her political views and/or aspirations lie, but there's something shameful about representing Saudi Arabia as if there's some real substantive change for women there. It's somehow a little worse since she's such a mediocre athlete.
As someone who lives in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia and with Saudi girls, allow me to make a few comments:
1. This was a hotly-debated issue in the country and continues to be so. The possibility of the country's national team being banned from London (like South Africa years ago) no doubt pushed the country forward to naming two women at the last minute.
2. Forget the athletic skill of these first female athletes. The media coverage will be huge, as these two women represent a huge breakthrough culturally.
3. Please note that all sports are banned for women in this country. National schools (think public schools in America)are segregated and girls are prohibited from any form of physical education (for the same reasons they were in the USA a century ago).
4. There are Saudi girls playing sports here. Many/most of them attend international schools, where they are able to compete against other teams and schools, just like in America. It all happens behind walls, where it is not seen by those in opposition.
5. There are progressive Saudis who do not agree with this policy. I used to work for the Royal Family and one of their daughters is an excellent athlete, and organized a large soccer tournament at our school. Men were banned from watching, since this is still a very touchy subject. But the girls played, which is the most important aspect.
6. Remember a few decades ago how America debated the role of women and sports? Remember Title IX? Remember women banned from the Boston Marathon? Go back even further, say a century, and you will see the same patterns in America.
7. Change has come; be excited for the women of Saudi Arabia.