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Come discuss the 2008 Beijing Summer games with a couple of fanatics!
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Athlete Spotlight: Sanaa Abu Bkheet
You probably haven't heard of her and you sure as hell have never been to her country but Abu Bkheet is someone you won't soon forget. She is the first woman to compete for Palestine at these Athens games.
With one pair of shoes, she trained for the 800-m in sand by the sea. When she started to train back in 2000 in shorts and a t-shirt, the locals threw stones at her for her immodest dress. She switched to a full dress track suit even though she was running in brutal heat. When Israel imposed a temporary ban on Palestinians aged 16 to 35 from leaving the fenced-in Gaza Strip, she did not know if she would ever get to Athens in time for the games.
She is no threat to break a world record and a dark horse to medal at all. In fact, her time does not qualify for the A-standard, the maximum time most athletes need to post in trials to even be considered for the games. However, an exception has been made for her, so that she could be part of the 2-athlete Palestinian team. (The other athlete is a swimmer.)
Luckily, she is now in Athens, with several pairs of shoes and even a sponsor and is ready to compete. For the past month, Abu Bkheet has been training on the Greek island of Kos on an actual hard track, which she says is very hard to get used to after training on dirt roads and soft sand. Her main ambition now is to win a scholarship to a foreign university.
Look for Sanaa Abu Bkheet on August 20th when she runs for the pride of Palestine in the women's 800 meter.
You probably haven't heard of her and you sure as hell have never been to her country but Abu Bkheet is someone you won't soon forget. She is the first woman to compete for Palestine at these Athens games.
With one pair of shoes, she trained for the 800-m in sand by the sea. When she started to train back in 2000 in shorts and a t-shirt, the locals threw stones at her for her immodest dress. She switched to a full dress track suit even though she was running in brutal heat. When Israel imposed a temporary ban on Palestinians aged 16 to 35 from leaving the fenced-in Gaza Strip, she did not know if she would ever get to Athens in time for the games.
She is no threat to break a world record and a dark horse to medal at all. In fact, her time does not qualify for the A-standard, the maximum time most athletes need to post in trials to even be considered for the games. However, an exception has been made for her, so that she could be part of the 2-athlete Palestinian team. (The other athlete is a swimmer.)
Luckily, she is now in Athens, with several pairs of shoes and even a sponsor and is ready to compete. For the past month, Abu Bkheet has been training on the Greek island of Kos on an actual hard track, which she says is very hard to get used to after training on dirt roads and soft sand. Her main ambition now is to win a scholarship to a foreign university.
Look for Sanaa Abu Bkheet on August 20th when she runs for the pride of Palestine in the women's 800 meter.
