SAUDI ARABIA WILL send two female athletes to the London Olympics, ending the ultraconservative Muslim country’s record of fielding only all-male teams at the games.
The decision, announced today by the IOC, means every country competing in London will include women athletes for the first time in Olympic history. The two female Saudi competitors are judo athlete Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani and 800-meter runner Sarah Attar.
The athletes, who were invited by the International Olympic Committee, were entered by the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee by the 9 July deadline.
“This is very positive news and we will be delighted to welcome these two athletes in London in a few weeks time,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said in a statement.
Qatar and Brunei, two other countries that have never sent any female athletes to the Olympics, are also including women on their teams for the London Games.
“With Saudi Arabian female athletes now joining their fellow female competitors from Qatar and Brunei, it means that by London 2012 every national Olympic committee will have sent women to the Olympic Games,” Rogge said.
About 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in London, representing more than 200 national Olympic committees. Saudi Arabia has been under pressure from the IOC and human-rights groups to include women athletes. The IOC has been in negotiations with the Saudis for months on securing the participation of women.
“The IOC has been working very closely with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and I am pleased to see that our continued dialogue has come to fruition,” Rogge said. “The IOC has been striving to ensure a greater gender balance at the Olympic Games, and today’s news can be seen as an encouraging evolution.”
