Alan Hubbard: Will the IOC remain largely a preserve of the rich, the venerable – and the male?

In support of a leading figure, El Moutawakel

A visit to Athens this week confirmed the view that the future of London's Olympic Stadium must involve a football club. Without the presence of the round ball game the stadium which gloriously hosted the Olympic Games of 2004 would now be as much an old ruin as the Acropolis or the Parthenon.

Shabby and run down it may be, like the Greek economy, but at least it is in regular use, then Greek Super league clubs Panathinaikos and AEK sharing it on alternate weekends. Without football it would be as much a white elephant as several other now derelict venues that helped produce such a memorable Games eight years ago.

This has to be the lesson for London, which is why the mayor is wrong when he declares "the Stadium will have a future in any event" should the new deal with West Ham United not work out.

Oh no it won't, Boris.

Should that happen the Greeks have a word for it. Chaos.

The Greeks have words for many things of course, and some date back to the decrees of Ancient Greece and the birth of the original Olympic Games.

A few days spent in the sadly impoverished cradle of both the ancient and modern Games brought reflections on how far they have  come since the days when women were barred from competing in- or even watching - the Olympics.

London demonstrated this year that in almost all respects sexism, like racism, has been firmly extinguished that equality is now the Olympic buzzword.

Although not quite.

For all its attempts at modernisation the International Olympic Committee (IOC) remains largely a preserve of the rich, the venerable – and the male.

Jacques Rogge at the opening of the Executive Board meeting in Lausanne earlier this week

A few women members now tread the corridors of power but a high heel has yet to step purposefully through the glass ceiling that covers the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

By that I mean no woman has ever come close to being considered a candidate for the most prestigious office in world sport – the Presidency of the IOC itself.

But could this be about to change next year, when Jacques Rogge steps down after eight years in which he has overseen many commendable changes in the way Olympic sport is governed.

Who will succeed him?

The thought occurs that if Lord Coe was currently an IOC member the question might be superfluous as he surely would be as much a shoo-in as he was for the chair of the British Olympic Association (BOA) - installed by acclamation after the stupendous success of London 2012 and the personal global esteem that now engulfs him.

Next time, maybe.

Instead, while none have yet formally declared their intention to run for the election to be held at the 125th IOC session in Buenos Aires next September, we have mainly the usual suspects who, as they say on those TV talent show polls, are, in no particular order:

Thomas Bach, 59, long-serving vice-president, former German Olympic fencing champion and loyal henchman to Rogge, who is believed to be the strongest candidate and current favourite.

Germany's Thomas Bach is favourite to take up the IOC Presidency

Richard Carrion, 60, a Puerto Rican banker and financial expert who chairs the IOC Finance Commission.

Denis Oswald, 65, former Swiss rower well-known to London for his diligent overseeing of the 2012 Coordination Commission.

Wu Ching-kuo (aka Dr C K Wu), 66, ambitious reformist Taiwanese head of international boxing body AIBA whose latest edict is to remove the word amateur from the sport in attempt to control all aspects of boxing.

Ng Ser Miang, 63, Chinese-born Singaporean diplomat and former Olympic sailor who won plaudits for organising then 2005 IOC session where London won the 2012 bid, and hosting the successful Youth Olympics in Singapore.

All men of a certain age, and one disadvantage Messrs Carrion, Wu and Ng are that they are non-Europeans. Only one of the nine IOC presidents of the modern Games – the awful American "Slaverty" Avery Brundage- has come from outside Europe.

Denis Oswald (left) presided the IOC's Coordination Commission for London 2012

Time for a change of Continent?

Unlikely. But nowhere near as titanic a turn-up as a change of sex.

For I hear there is growing campaign to get the woman who arguably has done more than anyone for female emancipation in Olympic sport to stand for the IOC Presidency.

Nawal El Moutawakel was never shy of putting her best foot forward as a runner, pioneering the historic breakthrough when winning the inaugural women's 400 metres hurdles event at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

In doing she became not only the first Moroccan but the first African, Arab and Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Although she had been an accomplished runner, the victory of El Moutawakel, then a student at Iowa State University in the USA, shocked her nation.

Previously she had been verbally abused, and even spat upon as she ran barefoot through the streets of Casablanca.

But attitudes changed sharply when King Hassan telephoned his congratulations, and declared that all girls born the day of her victory were to be named in her honour.

Nawal El Moutawakelof Morocco made history in 1984 when she became the first Moroccan, African, Arab and Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold medal

Subsequently she became a high-flying businesswoman, then Morocco's Minister for Sport and an IOC Executive Board member, perhaps best known for leading the Evaluation Commission for the 2012 Games.

Very much an Anglophile, she always carried a torch for London - literally so when running a leg of the torch relay Westminster this year.

Coe always believed she was instrumental in helping sway then decision London's way in 2005.

At 50 she remains the iconic a role model for women's sport, for which she has consistently broadened the parameters.

Fourteen years ago she organised the first Moroccan women's 10 kilometres race in Casablanca which now attracts more than 30,000 participants annually. All women. The men - husbands, brothers and neighbours - now cheer from the windows and roadsides. It is a remarkable display of sorority in a predominantly Muslim country.

Could Nawal El Moutawakel who is such a iconic a role model for women's sport, take over from Jacques Rogge?

"Sport has given me so much that whatever I give back it will never be enough," she has said

I hope El Moutawakel puts on her running shoes again – this time for the top job in global sport. Madame President.

An African head of the IOC – and a woman to boot?

Now that really would propel sport into the 21st century.

And the Greeks have a word – or two- for it, Καλὴ τύχη

That means Good, Luck.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday, and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Olympics, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire

Source: http://www.insidethegames.biz/blogs/1012004-alan-hubbard-will-the-ioc-remain-largely-a-preserve-of-the-rich-the-venerable-and-the-male 

An Olympic first for Muslim women? Not really

BY: EVA SAJOO

VANCOUVER, BC, Aug 12, 2012/ Troy Media/ – In the wake of the 2012 Olympics, there are a lot of firsts to reflect on. It is the first time since 1904 that Canada won a medal in soccer (thanks to our women’s team), the first time women boxed at the Games, and the first time that Saudi Arabia – along with neighbouring Qatar and Brunei – sent female athletes.

The appearance of Sarah Attar in the 800 meter race, and Wojdan Shaherkani in judo, has been hailed by some as a triumph for Muslim women, In part because Shaherkani was granted permission to compete in a headscarf, despite earlier concerns that the drape around her head and neck would pose a safety risk in the ring.

But the significance of Shakerkani’s performance seems limited because Saudi authorities only entered female athletes after intense pressure from the International Olympic Committee. Not much is changed in the ultra-misogynist Kingdom of the al-Sauds, where women are not even permitted to drive, let alone to engage in sports or physical training at school. Many of these restrictions are relatively recent introductions to Saudi society – despite attempts to justify them as Islamic requirements.

Whatever Shaherkani’s appearance may mean for Saudi women, it certainly does not represent progress for Muslim women. The massive coverage of her story ignores the fact that Muslim women have been competing in the Olympic Games (far more successfully that their Saudi sisters) for decades.

Take Nawal El Moutawakel, the Moroccan hurdler who won the 400 meter race in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Her success smashed stereotypes in her country – and earned her royal commendation, including a decree that girls born on the day of her victory should be named after her. She has since organised successful local racing events for Moroccan women, and is currently a member of the International Olympic Committee.

Soraya Haddad, an Algerian judoka known as “The Iron Lady of El Kseur” won a bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This year Iraqi sprinter Dana Abdul Razzaq competed in the Games, and was her country’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony.

There were many other Muslim athletes in London this year, including Egyptian weight lifter Nahla Ramadan Mohammed and Turkey’s Asli Captir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut, who took gold and silver in the women’s 1500 metre race.

These women don’t make headlines for their religion. Is it because they don’t feel the need to wear headscarves? Or the fact that their countries have not discouraged their participation? The truth is that Wojdan Shaherkani fits much better into the western stereotype of Muslim women: uncompetitive hijabis labouring under patriarchal oppression. Runners who take gold and not scarves don’t get reported as “Muslim.”

Saudi Arabia has been working hard to export its peculiarly backward attitude toward women as the authentic version of Islam for Muslims everywhere. It has had considerable success on this score, considering how widely the headscarf has been adopted as “authentically” Muslim. Ironically, when western media represent Shaherkani as an example of progress for Muslim women, we inadvertently reinforce the notion that the Saudi version is “real Islam.” How do we know if a woman is Muslim? She wears a headscarf.

The fact that Olympic regulations have been changed to allow women to cover their heads for religious reasons is a step forward. It removes additional barriers for heroic women like Afghanistan’s Tahmina Kohistani, who had to overcome extraordinary hurdles in her war-torn and very conservative country just to be able to compete. For her, wearing a headscarf is necessary to avoid severe repercussions at home. Her performance nevertheless presents Afghans with a bold vision of what women can do.

For Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, having women compete in the Olympics is a major change. However, it is worth remembering that participation in sport, like politics and business, is not new for Muslim women. They were active even on the battlefields of the Arabian peninsula centuries ago. In our own time, women drove freely in the streets of Saudi Arabia. Patriarchal forces, like the Saudi authorities, have attempted to wipe out this history. Only such amnesia could make their assertion that female oppression is required by Islam seem credible.

Media coverage that buys this story reinforces the claim that women who do not cover are somehow less Muslim. This only slows down women’s progress in conservative societies against barriers that have everything to do with patriarchy and nothing to do with faith.

Eva Sajoo is a Research Associate with the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. She has a graduate degree in International Development and Education from the University of London. Her published academic writing focuses on the rights of women and minorities. She has contributed widely to publications on Islam and the Muslim world. Eva has taught at the University of British Columbia, and the Beijing University of Science and Technology. She currently teaches at SFU. Website:http://www.ccsmsc.sfu.ca/about_us/faculty/eva_sajoo. Follow Eva on Twitter@esajoo

Nawal El Moutawakel: The first female Muslim Olympic champion

In celebration of London 2012, Left Foot Forward will be running a series of profile features on Olympic heroines past and present, and potential female stars of the future. London 2012 is the first year that all teams have a female competitor yet women are still severely under-represented in sport, especially when it comes to coverage and sponsorship. The success of female athletes in this year’s Olympics needs to trigger cultural change.

For all the publicity that the International Olympics Committee (IOC) receives, did you know that one of its members was the first female Muslim to win an Olympic gold medal?

Nawal El Moutawakel is a Moroccan hurdler who not only achieved a historic moment for Muslim women, but also won the first ever 400m Women’s hurdles event in 1982 and was the first Moroccan athlete to win an Olympic medal.

Interviewing Nawal recently, the FT said (£):

El-Moutawakel believes her win helped change the lives of thousands of Muslim women across the world.

Previously, it was thought women couldn’t do well in sport, but after her triumph athletics became a possibility for a whole generation. In fact, el-Moutawakel became such an iconic figure for Muslim women that she used to receive letters addressed simply: Nawal el-Moutawakel, Morocco.

El-Moutawakel was quoted as saying:

“King Hassan II called me right after I crossed the finish line… Someone took me into a special room and said ‘The King is on the phone.’

“He said: ‘I am so proud of you. The entire country is going wild. This victory has made us all so happy and proud of you.’ I was speechless. I couldn’t believe he was awake and watching. It was in the early hours in Morocco.”

The success of legendary female athletes always tends to stem from supportive parents; Nawal’s parents especially believed in equality and she and her sisters were given the same sporting opportunities as her brothers. Iowa State University noticed how talented Nawal was at hurdles and offered her a scholarship, to which she accepted but begrudgingly left her family.

Eight months later, Nawal won the gold medal that would firmly put her in the history books.

Nawal is now secretary of sport for Morocco and sits on the IOC. She started a 5km run in Casablanca called Courir pour le plaisir, which she hopes will encourage women feel “the power of sport”.

One website commented:

El Moutawakel’s victory was a surprise to most—running the event in 54.61 seconds, she beat her personal best by 0.76 seconds. But in that moment, the enormity of her accomplishment weighed down her tiny 5-foot-3 frame.

The win wasn’t just for herself or even for her country; as the first woman from a Muslim nation to win an Olympic gold medal, she smashed stereotypes and proved human potential is limitless, even for women.

Since she won the gold medal in 1984, Muslim women from around the world have competed in the Olympics and won medals. El Moutawakel has closely followed the careers of many, including Ruqaya Al Ghasara, a Bahraini woman who defied Muslim fundamentalists in 2004 when she competed in the Athens games and became the first female athlete to wear a full hijab at the Olympics.

Source: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/08/nawal-el-moutawakel-first-female-muslim-olympic-champion/

Olympics 2012: Morocco's Sara El Bekri

Morocco's Sara El Bekri competes in a women's 100-meter breaststroke swimming heat at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Sunday, July 29, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/29072012/5/photo/29072012121848.html

Waving Hijab? Nah! Waving Flag!

By Tales From a Hijabi Footballer

Today was the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies. The Parade of Nations has always been my favourite part as it humanizes the Olympics and lets us see the different teams express their excitement. Dreams will be realized and hopes will be crushed. It is also where inspiration and awe will burst out.

The Parade of Nations is about the athletes. It’s about respecting their communities and uniting people under the umbrella of Fair Play and Love of Sport. To carry the flag ahead of a country is an undeniable honour.

I was quite excited to see so many strong, talented women lead the charge into the stadium.

More thrilling was, how many predominantly Muslim countries (12 in fact: Tajikistan,Qatar, Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey, Jordan , Iraq, Djibouti , Comoros , Brunei , Bahrain , Albania ) had selected women as flag bearers.

These phenomenal athletes must fight through the physical rigors their chosen sport. They must train, focus, balance home life, studies, work, family and community involvement. Some must undoubtedly navigate through a system of discrimination with a lack of understanding and support.

I’m a footballer. I wear hijab and openly identify as a Muslim. But, I live in a country where my participation in open sport is allowed and fostered. No doubt, I am privileged.

Flag bearer Mavzuna Chorieva from Tajikistan, had to enter competitions using her brother’s identification and cutting her hair short because a female boxer was unheard of. She hid her identity to have access to a sport she loved.

Maziah Hussain of Brunei, is the first hijab-wearing athlete to represent her country. So is Bahia Al-Hamad of Qatar. Both women beamed with pride as they led their countrymen through the parade. In fact, they are of the first women to be allowed to participate from their homelands.

To see these women carrying their flag with so much grace and dignity is enough to make any women’s heart burst with joy.

Muslim countries represented at these games have historically faced much scrutiny. Their male vis-à-vis female team ratios may have been quite low. They have always been critiqued for lack of inclusion of women and rightfully so. They may also be from a region currently embroiled in war, political insecurity, poverty and ingrained systems of patriarchy .

Saudi Arabia is sending two women as part of their National Team. It has been getting a tremendous amount of press as the announcement was made very recently.

From a country where women can not yet drive, a young woman , Wojdan Shaherkani, will represent her nation in Judo- if she is allowed to compete with her hijab.

However, the issue in this case isn’t whether the athletes wear hijab or even practice Islam. It is that these women they are strong enough and talented enough to make an Olympic Team. Representing Muslim nations that adhere strictly to tradition and may not always be open to women participating so openly is a huge step and one that deserves recognition. These athletes are shattering assumptions and are demanding to give their best.

It is an honour to watch

That 12 women have been selected to be at the forefront of the world’s most watched sporting event, is unprecedented. They are being recognized for their athletic achievements and potential while their heritage is celebrated. It illustrates that the world can be a place of encouragement, acceptance and inspiration.

And it has room for brilliant athletes, Muslim women included.

This is a virtue that I cling to and hope that my daughter and her daughters will defend.

As these athletes are showcased globally, Muslim women flag-bearers, are blazing trails and sprinting in the right direction – to the podium.
Source: http://footybedsheets.tumblr.com/post/28184241618/waving-hijab-nah-waving-flag

EL MOUTAWAKEL AND REEDIE ELECTED IOC VPS

AP

Former Olympic hurdles champion Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco and Britain's Craig Reedie were elected vice presidents of the IOC on Thursday, while the U.S. was again shut out of the ruling body and the son of former President Juan Antonio Samaranch was elevated to the inner circle.

For the first time, three women will serve on the International Olympic Committee's policymaking board.

El Moutawakel and Reedie were both elected unopposed to fill two vacancies for vice president, moving up from their regular positions on the 15-member executive board.

El Moutawakel received 81 votes in favor and 10 against, while Reedie was approved with 85 in favor and four against.

El Moutawakel, who four years ago became the first woman from a Muslim nation voted onto the executive board, now becomes the first to reach the vice presidency.

She was the first woman from a predominantly Muslim nation to win an Olympic medal when she took gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

''I am deeply honored,'' said El Moutawakel, who heads the IOC's coordination commission for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. ''I will continue to promote the Olympic movement with passion and devotion and energy. You can count on me.''

The Moroccan is the fourth woman to become an IOC vice president.

Also Thursday, former Olympic fencer Claudia Bokel of Germany was elected to the executive board in her role as the new chair of the IOC athletes' commission.

Bokel becomes the third woman on the board, joining El Moutawakel and Sweden's Gunilla Lindberg - the first time three women have been on the ruling body at one time.

Of the IOC's 109 members, 21 are women. The 19.3 percent figure is just below the 20 percent target set by the IOC in 1996 for women's representation in international sports bodies.

Reedie, a former head of the international badminton federation, has been on the IOC board since 2009. He was a key figure in London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympics and his elevation to vice president came just one day before the opening ceremony.

''It's a particular pleasure to be elected to this place in this city, which has taken up so much of my time in recent years,'' Reedie said.

El Moutawakel took the spot previously held by Yu Zaiqing of China, whose term on the board expired. Reedie replaced Italy's Mario Pescante, who resigned after Rome pulled out of bidding for the 2020 Games.

In the day's most eye-catching result, Ireland's Patrick Hickey received 34 ''no'' votes in his unopposed election to the board as new head of the Association of National Olympic Committees. Hickey was elected with 57 votes in favor, but the large number against underlined the continuing rancor that led to the resignation earlier this year of longtime ANOC chief Mario Vasquez Rana of Mexico.

U.S. member Anita DeFrantz and Lebanon's Tony Khoury withdrew as candidates for the executive board at the last minute because they realized their chances were slim.

''I have got more years and I wanted to be certain that I had enough votes to win,'' DeFrantz said. ''This was too uncertain an opportunity.''

It means the U.S. remains without a voice on the Olympics' most powerful body. The U.S. has been without a member on the executive board since Jim Easton left in 2006.

''We will change that,'' DeFrantz told The Associated Press. ''Today was not the day.''

The next chance will be at the IOC session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September 2013.

DeFrantz, who ran unsuccessfully for IOC president in 2001, has failed in several attempts to return to the executive board in recent years.

Eleven years after his father stepped down, Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. was elevated to the executive body. After a 45-45 tie vote with Ukrainian pole vault great Sergei Bubka, the Spaniard won 50-40 in a runoff.

Bubka then ran for another seat, defeating Willy Kaltschmitt of Guatemala 51-43. Kaltschmitt returned to win the final seat, beating Nat Indrapana of Thailand 60-36.

C.K. Wu, the Taiwanese president of the international amateur boxing association, was voted onto the board as representative of the summer sports federations with 88 in favor and six against.

Swiss member Rene Fasel, head of the international ice hockey federation, was reappointed to the board as head of the winter sports with 76 in favor and 12 against.

The IOC also elected five new rank-and-file members: former Namibian sprinter Frank Fredericks, who had previously served as an athlete representative on the executive board; Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda; former badminton player Li Lingwei of China; Belgian Olympic Committee head Pierre-Olivier Beckers of Belgium; and Aisha Garad Ali, head of the Olympic body in Djibouti.

Source: http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/story/El-Moutawakel-and-Reedie-elected-IOC-VPs-85671313

FEMALE MUSLIM OLYMPIANS SCHEDULE

Muslim Women's Sport Foundation prepared the schedule below for your interest. For the better quality of the schedule, please refer to their website from: http://www.mwsf.org.uk/olympics_london2012.html

 

(Every effort has been made to ensure the information is correct. If errors are noticed please email info@mwsf.org.uk. For the full Olympic schedule  visit www.london2012.com)

El Moutawakel to continue flying the flag

Morocco's legendary athlete wants to ensure women assert themselves on international stage

• By Alaric Gomes

Dubai: She is considered the face of athletics for women, and this is a tag that she proudly wears with grace and humility further enhancing her standing in the world of sports.

In her own words, Nawal El Moutawakel's story is that of "rising to a challenge to meet the aspirations of an entire Muslim world", first on and then off the field.

"I was a woman, a Muslim and speaking the language [English] were among some of the challenges before me. But I was strong and I decided to go forth in the world dominated by men," El Moutawakel told the Dubai 2nd International Symposium for Sports Creativity held yesterday along the lines of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sports Creativity Awards.

Born on April 15, 1962 in Casablanca, Morocco, El Moutawakel won the inaugural women's 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, thereby becoming the first female Muslim born in Africa to become an Olympic champion.

She is also the first Moroccan and the first woman from a Muslim majority country to win an Olympic gold medal. In 2007, she was named the Minister of Sports in the Moroccan cabinet. After her Olympic gold, the King of Morocco telephoned El Moutawakel to pass on his congratulations, and he declared that all girls born the day of her victory were to be named in her honour.

Unfortunately, her father passed away a few months before the 1984 LA Games, denying her of much greater joy while on the victory podium. "When I received the gold medal I had mixed feelings as he [father] was not around to see his dream come true," she related.

However, injuries forced her to cut short her international career at a young age of 24, thereby making her look towards a new challenge in sport off the field. In 1995, El Moutawakel became a council member of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and three years later, she became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

El Moutawakel was also the president of evaluation commissions for the selection of the host city for the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games in London and Rio de Janeiro respectively. "It is ironical that after more than 100 years of world track and field, we did not have a single woman representative on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). But I started a trend and after the most recent elections we have six elected women in the IAAF alone," she noted.

"My biggest challenge was to ensure that we overcome the isolation of women, and given my experience as an athlete, I wanted to ensure my experience benefited sports and women, in particular," she added.

Source: 

http://gulfnews.com/sport/athletics/el-moutawakel-to-continue-flying-the-flag-1.917809

El Moutawakel: Middle East female athletes will come to the fore

Nawal El Moutawakel

Olympic 400m hurdle champion Nawal El Moutawakel believes female athletes in the Middle East have a bright future.

Moroccan El Moutawakel became a household name in 1984 when she won gold at the Los Angeles games, the first African-born Muslim woman to do so.

She picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus ceremony 12 months ago, and was convinced to join the Academy when confronted by the list of fellow members that she still considers to be “heroes”.

After watching Saudi Arabia’s Dalma Rushdi H Malhas scoop Equestrian bronze at the Youth Summer Games in Singapore last year, she believes this region will soon produce another Ghada Shouaa, the heptathlete who won gold for Syria at the 1995 World Championships.

“To see a young girl from Saudi Arabia on the podium in Equestrian, was phenomenal to us, to me,” she said.

“I was in there watching it, I started crying and broke into tears because for me it was a very special moment to see a powerful woman coming from the Gulf states to say ‘hey, I can win’.

“The future of this region is feminine. We have seen women reaching all kinds of levels in administration, as a minister, even pilot, lawyer, judges and everything. And we will see women becoming Olympic champions and world champions.

“Success can be achieved. More and more there is a strong participation of women from this region maybe it’s still shy but there is a presence.”

The former athlete was still a student when she shot to fame in Los Angeles, so she knows more than most the life-changing affects sport can have.

“A couple of years ago I was just a tiny, shy little girl from Morocco who wanted to run but I never knew I could perform one day and here I am enjoying the benefits that were given to me by sport,” she added.

“Sport has a great impact on any kind of humankind. It impacts your life for… life, forever.”

By Staff Reporter of Sport 360. http://www.sport360.com/component/content/article/102-breaking-news/33821-runner

Morocco takes gold in 400m race

Morocco's quest to win more medals in the Senior Africa athletics Championship was boosted on the final day on Sunday as Hayat Lambarki won the women's 400m hurdle.

It was always going to be a close contest with Nigeria and Liberia seeking to exert their dominance in the sprint hurdle race. But at the first bent, Lambark had gained the edge over her rivals and relaxed.

Nigeria's Ajoke Odumosu started eating up the gap and by the third bent was level with the Moroccan while Maureen Jelegat of Kenya emerged from behind to claw her way into contention.

As the trio came for the final straight, it was Lambarki who was stronger to win in 55.96 second while Odumosu was the silver medalist in 55.97 with Jelegat winning a rare medal for Kenya in the sprints as she came in third for the bronze in 56.74.

Liberia's Kuo Lougon was fourth in 57.17 ahead of Burundi's Aissata Soulama 57.19 while Madagascar's Olga Razanamalala 57.51 was sixth. Wenda Theron of South Africa 57.70 was seventh with Carole Made Kaboud 58.05 finishing last.

Source: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/7088806.html

Women's 400m hurdles gold winner Hayat Lambarki of Morocco (C) poses on the podium with her compatriot and silver medallist Lamia el-Habz (L) and bronze winner Faiza Jumaa Omar of Sudan during the 16th Arab Atheltics Championships in Damascus on October 9, 2009.