Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee
Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee Qatar sport COVERMG.indd - Qatar Olympic Committee
MY LONDON 2012 Team Qatar looks back on an inspiring Olympic Games in London where dreams came true for at least two of the country’s athletes. 20 | Issue 19 | Qatar Sport
MY LONDON 2012 “I believe that the female athletes representing Qatar at the London Games responded very well to the great challenge of competing at the highest level of competition, the Olympic Games. They showed great commitment and discipline through their attitude towards training and competition.” QATAR CELEBRATED ITS best ever Olympic Games haul at London 2012 as Nasser Al Attiyah and Mutaz Barshim finished with a bronze medal each. Nasser won bronze in the skeet shooting event on Day Seven, while Mutaz secured his medal in the men’s high jump on Day 14 – doubling the county’s historic medal tally since Qatar first entered Olympic competition at the Montreal Summer Games in 1976. Qatar was represented in London 2012 by 12 athletes: eight men and four women. One of the women athletes, 20-year-old Bahiya Al-Hamad, carried the flag at the Opening Ceremony and came closest to reaching the final rounds of competition, when she finished 17th out of 56 competitors in the 10m air rifle. Along with the tales of hope and glory in London, of course, there were moments of disappointment and bad luck. Overall, however, London 2012 will be remembered with pride by those with a passion for sport in Qatar. Below, some of the main protagonists from Team Qatar tell the story of London 2012 in their own words. TEAM QATAR CHEF DE MISSION, KHALEEL AL JABIR What were your hopes for Team Qatar before the Games began? We were hoping to achieve good results in at least two sports (shooting and athletics) as the preparations of the relevant athletes and the results in the lead up to the Olympic Games were very encouraging. What are your memories of the Opening Ceremony? Having the chance to parade one more time behind my country’s flag in the hope of seeing the flag being raised at the competition venues for victory ceremonies, will last with me for long time and I’m sure that the same would apply for the other team members. In addition to that, the way that the torch was lit, with the various youths representing the sporting stars, was very different and created a unique experience. Did the success of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mutaz Barshin exceed your expectations? Not really. We had high hopes for these two great sportsmen as well as for some of the others such as Hamza Driouch, who broke the world junior record for his distance, 1,500m in athletics, and was unlucky in the semi finals of his events, and for Rashid Al-Athba, our Trap and Double Trap shooter, who was unlucky not to win a medal, and ranked 7th in his main event, which is a very honourable result for him on his first participation. We thank God that Nasser and Mutaz rose to the occasion and kept their focus and determination especially with the high expectations from them and the pressure that these high expectations exercised on them. How do you feel Qatar’s female athletes responded to the challenge of competing at the Olympic Games? I believe that the female athletes representing Qatar at the London Games responded very well to the great challenge of competing at the highest level of competition, the Olympic Games. They showed great commitment and discipline through their attitude towards training and competition and also towards the great ambassadorial role that they played on behalf of all women of Qatar. And apart from the unfortunate injury of Nour Al-Malki, our 100m competitor, Nada Arakji, our swimmer, Aia Mohammed, our Table Tennis competitor, and most particularly our Shooter, Bahiya Al- Hamad did very well and hopefully will be role models for all young Qatari females to excel in whatever endeavour they decide to undertake. What were your personal highlights of London 2012? Without a doubt, the fact of seeing Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mutaz Barshim on the podium and the flag of Qatar raised to glorify their achievements, was my personal highlights of London 2012 hoping that this, being our best participation ever in the Olympic Games in terms of results, would be the start of a bright era for Olympic Sport in Qatar. And what makes it more of a personal highlight is the fact that I had the honour of leading this delegation as the Chef de Mission.
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MY LONDON<br />
2012<br />
Team <strong>Qatar</strong> looks back on an<br />
inspiring <strong>Olympic</strong> Games in London<br />
where dreams came true for at least<br />
two of the country’s athletes.<br />
20 | Issue 19 | <strong>Qatar</strong> Sport
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