Saeed Basweidan (born 26 June 1977) is a

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

i middle-distance runner who competed internationally for

at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Career

Basweidan was just 19 years old when he competed in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

at the

held in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, he ran in the final heat in round one and finished sixth out of seven runners beating

Greg Rhymer Greg Rhymer (born 22 February 1972 in New York City) is an athlete who represented the British Virgin Islands. Rhymer competed in the 800 metres and the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capit ...

from the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, but still not quick enough to qualify for the next round. The following year he transferred to

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

, where he still holds the school record for 800 metres indoor (1:49.33), which is also a

i national record.

References

External links

* 1977 births Living people Yemeni male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Yemen Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics {{yemen-athletics-bio-stub