Wednesday 8 August 2012: Sarah Attar Succeeds At London 2012

Numerous others have succeeded before her and many will do so after her, but at the Olympic Stadium today, we were treated to a spectacle of successes. Team GB's Daniel Awde won his decathlon 100m heat, Lynsey Sharp qualified for the women's 800m, Sophie Hitchon made a PB and British Record in the Women's Hammer Throw and Steve Lewis pole vaulted into the final at 5.50m.

Attar's success however was different. She competed against fellow athletes in the women's 800m, thanks in part to pressure applied to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the International Olympic Committee. In previous years, the country, together with Qatar and Brunei have been criticised by sending all-male teams.

In spite of finishing the race last, by over half a minute, she is the first Saudi woman to compete in the Olympics. The race was effectively over before the crowd got behind her. To anyone standing outside the stadium, unable to watch the action, it could have been the Jessica Ennis gold moment all over again. "I mean, seeing the support like that, it's just an amazing experience," she said. "I was so excited to be a part of it. I really hope this can be the start of something amazing."

It was the single most inspiring moment of the day for 80,000 spectators recognised her participation as truly groundbreaking.

We we're there - I hope you like it.

footnote: Never has choosing a single photo to post from over 300 on the day been such and easy task. If you'd like to see some of the others, take a trip to the other place

• Canon EOS 60D:
• f/5.6:
• 1/2500":
• 400.0mm:
• ISO 250

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