Ruqaya Al-Ghasra
Rakia al-Gassra, born September 6, 1982[1], is a Bahraini athlete. She was the first woman to represent Bahrain at the Olympic Games, by taking part in the women's 100 metres sprint at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.[2]
ESPN stated that al-Gassra "overcame the objections of fundamentalists in her village" to participate. She ran with a head scarf and her body fully covered.[3] She finished fifth in her heat, with a time of 11.49 seconds, and did not advance.[4] A time of 11.43 seconds would have enabled her to qualify for the following round.[5] By 2006, she had improved her time to 11.34 seconds.[6]
Al-Gassra has won a gold medal at the Asian Games.[7]
External links
- "Islamic women making history in Athens", Associated Press, August 20, 2004
References
- ^ "Rakia Al Gassra", L'Equipe
- ^ "Running into History", ESPN, September 25, 2004
- ^ "Running into History", ESPN, September 25, 2004
- ^ "From behind the veil", The Age, August 24, 2004
- ^ "SUMMER 2004 GAMES; Free at Last, Islamic Women Compete With Abandon", New York Times, August 21, 2004
- ^ "Navpreet Singh and women's relay team top the list", The Hindu, Juny 26, 2006
- ^ "Shaheen to miss Qatar Grand Prix", Gulf Times, May 2, 2007
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