Mehboba Ahdyar, born in 1989 in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, is an

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athlete. She was scheduled to be the only woman representing Afghanistan at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

, where she planned to compete in

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in the women's 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres events. Her family live in a mud brick house in one of the poorest parts of

."Afghan Woman Runs Toward Olympics Despite Jeers, Potential Danger"
Associated Press, March 16, 2008 She reportedly runs 1,500 metres in about 4:50. Ahdyar has won competitions in Afghanistan, but the Olympics was going to be her first competition outside her home country. However, she did not compete because before the Olympics, on June 4, 2008, Ahdyar disappeared from a training facility in

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, possibly to seek asylum. Her whereabouts were then unknown. On July 10, 2008, it became known that she was on her way to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

to seek asylum.Fears ease after missing Afghan athlete found

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, July 10, 2008 The Afghan

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

in the

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reported that, as she trained for the Olympics, Ahdyar faced "daily taunts from her more conservative neighbors, vicious rumors about her character, and even death threats from extremists.""Afghan Athletes Train for Beijing Olympic"
, Afghan embassy to the United States, April 29, 2008 Ahdyar planned on wearing a Muslim scarf during the competition: "I will not take off my scarf in China when I race because it is symbol of Muslim women."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahdyar, Mehboba 1989 births Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Afghan female middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Afghanistan Living people Sportspeople from Kabul

See also

References