Saudi Arabia’s track and field athlete, Sarah Attar, ran a new personal best and set a new national record this week in the Houston half marathon. She came in 39th in her division with a time of 1 hour, 26 minutes, 47 seconds, breaking her personal record by almost five minutes.
In a recent Washington Post article, Attar is quoted saying: “It's pretty cool that me going after my personal best is also going after the Saudi national record […] It's really encouraging to make such strides in my time also. It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward in the next two years leading up to Tokyo.”
Attar is currently working hard to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, as her previous two participations in London 2012 and Rio 2016 were through a special invitation by the International Olympic Committee. According to USA Today, Attar and her coach began planning the next four years to get to Tokyo following the Rio games, with one of the races on that path being the half-marathon in Houston.
“That would be the first time that a Saudi woman qualifies for the Olympics," said Attar. “So not only are we participating, but we are now qualifying also. So it's a big goal right now.”
Born in California, the 25-year-old athlete holds dual citizenship, her mother American and her father Saudi Arabian. Attar was just 19 years old when she represented the Kingdom at the 2012 London Olympics, competing in the 800 meters and becoming the first women to represent Saudi Arabia in the Olympics.
“This is such a huge honor and an amazing experience, just to be representing the women,” Attar said at the time in a 2012 article by The Guardian. “I know that this can make a huge difference.”
“For women in Saudi Arabia, I think this can really spark something to get more involved in sports, to become more athletic […] Maybe in the next Olympics, we can have a very strong team to come,” she continued.
