By Ahmed SUHAIMI - Al Arabia
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| Susan Paler Alkhaldi, the mother of Jasmine Alkhaldi (featured on magazine cover), is just one of the supporters rooting for the Saudi-Filipino swimmer taking part in Olympics. (AP) |
Jasmine Alkhaldi, a Saudi-Filipino swimmer, who represents the Philippines in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, has been receiving dozens of comments from Arabs on her Twitter account over the past few days, wishing her the best of luck. Yasmin is participating in the 100-meter freestyle event in the Games.
“Oh. I can’t understand and speak Arabic but THANK YOU so much for all your tweets of support. I will definitely do my best,” Jasmine wrote on her Twitter account, after her fans wished her to become a winner of the gold medal. Her followers assured her that many people in Saudi Arabia are following her and wish her the best of luck.
The 19-year-old Jasmine was born in Parañaque, to a Saudi father and a Filipino mother. She holds the Philippine record for the 100-m and 50-m butterfly. She won three gold medals in the Southeast Asian Age Group Championships in 2011.
“This will be my first time going to the Olympics,” she had told ABS-CBNnews.com in an interview before the kicking off of the London event. “Not everyone can make it to the Olympics.”
“Ever since I was a kid, this was a dream – to be part of the Olympics,” she added.
For Jasmine, making it to the London Games is the highlight of her athletic career so far, even though she has also competed in the Youth Olympics.
“It’s really amazing to achieve the qualifying time and to be able to be here and compete for the Philippines,” she said.
