Sarah Attar, a junior at Pepperdine University, will become one of the first two women to compete for Saudi Arabia in the Olympics. Attar, 17, runs both cross country and track and will run the 800 meters in the Olympics.
Saudi Arabia was one of the only countries that had not sent women to compete. But after negotiations with the International Olympic Committee to end sexual discrimination among its member nations, it was announced last week that the country would be sending two women to the summer games in London this year.
The news was seen as transcending athletics, as women in Saudi Arabia enjoy far fewer rights than men. “It’s such a huge honor and I hope that it can really make some big strides for women over there to get more involved in sport,” Attar told CNN.
Women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving, and cannot vote or hold public office, although that will change in 2015. Without the permission of a male guardian, usually a father or husband, Saudi Arabian women also may not leave the country, go to school or open bank accounts. Women have also traditionally been banned from participating in athletics due to competing in front of a mixed-gender crowd.
Attar was named to the West Coast Conference’s Commissioner’s Honor Roll the past two years, and was recognized as a Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete. She was also named to the WCC’s All-Academic honorable mention squad for cross-country in 2011.