The starting shot rang out and two laps later history was made. For Pepperdine junior Sarah Attar, the experience of participating in track and field in the London 2012 Olympics was “surreal and incredible.” Despite the fact that she finished last, she said it was the principle that mattered the most, not the time. Attar became one of two female athletes to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.
Together with Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani in judo, she was performing on behalf of a country where women are prohibited from driving cars or traveling without a male relative.
“What is really important is that we are allowed to compete and it’s going to change the position of women is Saudi Arabia and how they can compete in sports,” Attar said. Even though Attar, who considers herself a distance runner, and mainly ran two-mile races in high school and 5Ks and 6Ks on the cross-country team at Pepperdine, she ran the 800-meter at the Olympics. “I was training for the marathon prior to the Olympics,” Attar said. “I really prefer the longer distances like the marathon.”
Despite the fact that Attar had a different coach during the Olympics, she said that the experience she received as a Wave was crucial for her progress. “If I wasn’t in a team at Pepperdine I don’t think that would be possible”, Attar said. “It has brought me to a next level and has put me around people who are competitive, which is another step closer to world championships and the Olympics.”
“Running at Pepperdine has just prepared me mentally and physically. It put me in races that are challenging, but I have learned to push through things and that’s what it takes to run races in the Olympics.”
Born in Escondido, Calif. and being a citizen of both United States and Saudi Arabia, Attar felt support from both countries. “Everywhere it was beyond incredible,” she said. “People were congratulating me and encouraging me and saying how proud they are. Having that and the support of women in Saudi Arabia is really encouraging and inspiring to me. That shows me that I am on the right track.”
Attar said one of her best memories from the Olympics was the opening ceremony. “I never expected in million years just to be there and I was actually walking in it,” she said. “It was also great seeing the work ethics of the athletes and how they live. I got the inside scoop on their lifestyle and not just what everyone sees on TV. It was great to practice on the track and see the life of Olympic athletes.”
Being in London and staying in the Olympic Village also marked one of the major highlights of the trip. “I have never been to a place where there are so many people from different countries around you and so many different languages spoken. It was just such a diverse crowd and it was great to be around it.”
In the future, Attar is planning to continue running and even signed up for a marathon. She is not excluding a possibility of participating in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “You never know what’s in store and even a year ago I would have never expected to be coming to the Olympics,” Attar said. “As far as right now, maybe I’ll pick up the pace a little bit and see where my life can take me.”
Attar is an art major looking forward to beginning a new semester and track season, being inspired by “everything that the world has to offer.” Something that she will never give up doing is “exploring and being outside, hanging out with people and enjoying life.”
