Fatema Abdul Majeed Hameed Gerashi, (born 26 March 1986), 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 swimmer. She was the first woman to represent Bahrain at the Olympics. She represented her country at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, competing in the women's 50 metres freestyle race. At the age of 12, she was the youngest competitor of any event and any nationality at the Sydney Games."Trio of try-hards splash their way into our hearts"
, ''The Times'', September 22, 2000"Arab women make breakthrough at Games"
CNN, September 23, 2000 She completed the race with a time of 51.15, finishing more than twelve seconds ahead of Equatorial Guinea's

Paula Barila Bolopa Paula Barila Bolopa (born 12 October 1979), nicknamed 'The Crawler', is a retired Equatoguinean football player and swimmer. She was one of two Equatorial Guinean swimmers to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the other being Eric ...

, but was disqualified, reportedly for having wobbled on the starting blocks, which was deemed a false start despite her not having been the first competitor to enter the water. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' praised her "Olympic spirit" and her "brave, technically proficient race". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' likewise praised her participation as conforming to "the true spirit of the Olympics". ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' described her as "a pioneer for

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

n Muslim women in a sport where the disrobing of the performers creates religious and cultural problems.""Children of the pool fast-tracked into the big time"
''The Telegraph'', July 11, 2000 Her participation was reportedly part of the Bahraini government's stated effort to promote "equality in sport". She was, indeed, -along with runner Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli- one of the first ever female competitors to represent Bahrain at the Olympics - although two women had previously competed for Bahrain in track and field at the Paralympic Games in 1984.Bahrain at the Paralympics
International Paralympic Committee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerashi, Fatema Hameed 1986 births Living people Bahraini female swimmers Bahraini people of Iranian descent Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers of Bahrain

See also

References