As Qatar ramps up their bid for the 2020 Olympics, they announced a very important move today that is no coincidence.
The small Arab nation is making a big push to assuage the fears that most of the world has surrounding an Olympic Games being held in the middle east. They recently offered an October event to avoid the worst heat of the summer.
Their latest move is to for the first time ever send women to an Olympic Games in London in 2012, provided they event qualifying standards. This would leave Saudi Arabia and Brunei as the only countries to never send a woman to an Olympic event.
Qatar has also named a woman, Noora al Mannai, as the head of their Doha bid for 2020.
These moves are not coincidental, but they are still a positive sign of progress for the country that lies in the heart of a region that has seen uprisings demanding, among other things, equal rights for women in the last year.
Like it or not, the Olympics have become a highly politicized event, and to see them make a catalystic change to basic rights like these (presuming the changes are genuine rather than superficial) is a much more positive sign than dwelling on the past.
The IOC has opened the door, according to ESPN.com, by extending wildcard invitations to a Qatari sprinter, as well as swimmer Nada Arkaji.
Arkaji participated in last year’s Pan-Arab Games, where Tunisia’s Ous Mellouli dominated to double-digit gold medals. She swam a total of 6 events – including each of the 50 meter races, along with the 100 free and 100 breaststroke.
Her highest finishes were in the 50 fly (35.52) and 50 back (38.79), with her likely Olympic entry coming in the 50 free, where she placed 6th in 31.85.
Those times may not wow swimming fans in other countries, but keep in mind that those results are achieved while competing in a country where women in sports, let alone sports where they wear tight-fitting bathing suits, are a predominantly male endeavor. She was the only woman to swim for Qatar at the Pan Arab Games, and there were overall about a third as many women in the entire multi-sport event as there were men.
With an Olympic bid, Arkaji could have the door opened to a whole new world of training and resources that never were before. Especially as Qatar continues to pump money into proving that they can compete respectably within an international framework if they were to host an Olympic Games. Don’t be surprised to see Arkaji make a massive improvement between now and July.
