Margret Rumat Rumar Hassan (born 12 August 1997), known as Margret Hassan, is a

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

ese sprinter. She competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

Early life

Hassan is originally from

Wau, South Sudan Wau (Arabic: واو ''Wāw''; also known as Wow, Waw, or Wau Town) is a city in northwestern South Sudan, on the western bank of the Jur River, that serves as capital for Western Bahr el Ghazal (and formerly Wau State). It lies approximately nort ...

. As a child, her family left their home due to the war with Sudan. The war prevented Hassan from getting an education. Hassan was still pursuing her primary education during her training for the

. Hassan started as an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player, and in 2012 changed to athletics. She began running competitively at the urging of a friend.

Athletics career

Hassan was selected to compete as an " Independent Olympic Athlete," a designation for athletes who are unable to compete under their nation's flag, at the 2014 Youth Olympics held in

Nanjing, China Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. Hassan was given the honor of carrying the Olympic flag as a representative of the Independent Olympic Athletes at the opening ceremony. She competed in the 400 metre distance at the games, finishing with a time of 61.72 seconds. In June 2016, Hassan competed at the

African Championship An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Athl ...

and recorded a time of 27.61 in the 200 metre distance and, later the same year, Hassan was part of South Sudan's first Olympic team. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 200 metre distance. She finished last in her round 1 heat with a time of 26.99 seconds, a personal best.

Corporate sponsorship

In June 2016,

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

began featuring Hassan in advertisements. The deal caused controversy when Hassan was selected to compete for South Sudan Olympics over sprinter

Mangar Makur Chuot Mangar may refer to: * Mangar (fish), a species of fish native to the Middle East * Mangar Bani, an archaeological site and hill forest in Faridabad district, Haryana, India * Mangar people, an ethnic group of Nepal * Mangar language (Nepal), a S ...

. The secretary-general of South Sudan's National Olympic Committee, Tong Deran, said he felt "pressure" to pick Hassan due to the advertising contract with Samsung. Samsung denied placing pressure on the committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed a complaint from Chuot.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Margret 1997 births Living people South Sudanese female sprinters Olympic athletes for South Sudan Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics People from Western Bahr el Ghazal Olympic female sprinters