Saudi women get the nod for Games
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, July 13, 2012
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Saudi Arabia will allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time ever in London this summer. |
Saudi Arabia has agreed to send female athletes to the Olympics for the first time with a judoka and an 800m runner to represent the kingdom in London later this month, the International Olympic Committee said yesterday.
Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, who will compete in the +78kg category in judo, and runner Sarah Attar will be the first Saudi women ever to take part in Olympics.
"This is very positive news and we will be delighted to welcome these two athletes in London in a few weeks time," said IOC President Jacques Rogge in a statement.
"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. 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," said Rogge.
The decision means every country in London will have male and female athletes.
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