Iraq’s Dana Abdulrazak, who braved sniper fire and bombs in order to train and withstood a bid to ban her over Olympic politics, was a winner just by starting the women’s 100m opening heats on Saturday.
Never mind the results showed that she finished sixth in the second heat in 12,36 seconds, 59th overall in a field of 85, and failed to qualify for the second round. What they did not show was how much it meant for her to represent her strife-torn homeland.
”It wasn’t important to be first. It was important to represent Iraq,” she said. ”I feel very excited. I’m very proud to be in the Olympic Games. I’m very happy to be here.”
Abdulrazak’s participation, and that of all Iraqi athletes, was in doubt in June when the International Olympic Committee suspended Iraq for ”political interference” in its national Olympic committee, sacked in May over corruption allegations.
A deal was struck last month to lift the ban, and that allowed Abdulrazak (22) to realise the dream that kept her training day after day while dodging bullets and bombs.
”Once when I was training in Baghdad a sniper opened fire on me,” Abdulrazak said. ”There are many bombs. When you are on the way to the stadium, you don’t know what will happen to you. It’s very difficult to train in Iraq because of the bad situations.”
Insurgents fighting an Iraqi government supported by United States troops have made simple things like finding a safe place to run difficult, but Abdulrazak vows she will fight on.
”I will still continue my training and my sport,” she said. ”When the sniper opened fire on me, I went back and trained in the same place 30 minutes later. I will continue my training, even if there are snipers.”
Improving on her time, shy of her personal best, is important to Adbulrazak.
”I’m not satisfied with the results. It’s not my best time,” she said. ”I’m also unhappy about what happened with the politics between the Olympics and the government.”
Wearing a T-shirt and long shorts, Abdulrazak had no concerns over concealment as some fundamentalist groups might.
”It’s not a big deal,” she said. ”In Iraq, it’s just sometimes like that. It’s normal in Iraq. This is the same thing I would wear at home.”
Headscarves were worn by the two women who finished last in the 100m heats, Djibouti’s Fathia Ali Bourrale, who was 84th in 14,29, and Afghanistan’s Robina Muqimyar, who was 85th overall in 14,8.
”It was not a problem for me with the burka,” Ali Bourrale said. ”I’m very pleased to be here and compete.”
Muqimyar, who wore a gray headscarf to conceal her hair, took pride in simply taking part after the turmoil her nation has suffered in recent years.
”I’m really happy to compete in 2008 Beijing. I’m happy. I like this,” she said. ”I’m the champion for Afghanistan.” — Sapa-AFP