Ruqaya Al-Ghasra ( ar, رقية الغسرة; born September 6, 1982), is a

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

i athlete. She was one of the first women to represent Bahrain at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, by taking part in the women's 100 metres sprint at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

."Running into History"
ESPN, September 25, 2004 (Bahraini women had, however, taken part in the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

as early as 1984.) She won medals at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

and went on to run at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

and the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

. She announced her international retirement in 2009. It was revealed in July 2010 that Al-Ghasra had failed an out of competition doping test and she was banned from competing for two years (between 17 September 2009 and 16 September 2011).

Career

2004 Olympic debut

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

stated that Al-Ghasra "overcame the objections of fundamentalists in her village" to participate. She ran with a head scarf and her body fully covered. She finished fifth in her heat, with a time of 11.49 seconds, and did not advance. A time of 11.43 seconds would have enabled her to qualify for the following round. By 2006, she had improved her time to 11.34 seconds. In 2003, Al-Ghasra had won gold in the 100 metre and 200 metre races at the Arabian Championships in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

."A first for Bahrain"
International Association of Athletics Federation, June 1, 2007 In 2004, prior to the Olympics, she won three silver medals, in the 60 metre, 200 metre and 400 metre races, at the Asian Indoor Championships in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. She also represented Bahrain in the 400 metre event at the World Indoor Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Regional medals

In 2006, Al-Ghasra won the gold medal in the 200 metre race at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. This made her the first Bahraini-born athlete to win gold at a major international athletics competition extending beyond the Arab world. She also won bronze in the 100 metre race. In 2007, she was scheduled to take part in the

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Game ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, the

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asian ...

in Lebanon and the

IAAF World Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. She pulled out of the latter championships due to injury."Olympic dreams for Al Ghasara"
Al Jazeera, February 15, 2008 In 2008, Al-Ghasra won gold in the 60 metre race at the Asian Indoor Championships in Doha, setting a new championships record with a time of 7.40 seconds.

2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships

She qualified to

compete Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

in the 100 metre and 200 metre events at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, but only competed in the 200 metre race where she reached the semi-finals.AL-Ghasra Ruqaya
Athlete Biography, beijing2008.cn She was her country's

flagbearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

at the Games'

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. At the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, she reached the quarter-finals of the 100 m, and the semi-finals of the 200 m, recording season's bests of 11.49 and 23.26 seconds respectively. At the end of the year, she announced her retirement from international athletics at the age of 27, to much surprise. She said that she came to the decision following consultation with doctors and specialists, who advised to take a long period off in order to undergo treatment and improve her general health. However, it was revealed in July 2010 that Al-Ghasra had failed an out of competition doping test and she was banned from competing for two years (between 17 September 2009 and 16 September 2011).IAAF Newsletter - Edition 115

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(2010-07-20). Retrieved on 2010-08-08.

References

External links

"Nike swoosh raises debate"
ESPN (about al-Gassra's "corporate-branded hijab") {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghasra, Ruqaya Al- 1982 births Living people Bahraini female sprinters Olympic athletes of Bahrain Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Bahrain Asian Games bronze medalists for Bahrain Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games Doping cases in athletics Bahraini sportspeople in doping cases Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games