14B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2004
Adversity inspires athletes
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Greece — A swimmer sat idle for months because U.S. soldiers took over the pool where he trained.
A judo player practiced in a small room because she couldn't go out in public without a veil. A runner jogged on the sand because the streets were too dangerous.
The road to Athens is tough for any athlete, but for some it is lined with land mines.
For those representing wartorn countries, training can mean risking bombs and bullets to reach the stadium, and making do without the barest essentials of equipment and coaching.
Some even dare to dream of a medal.
But many say the adversity they face has strengthened their resolve to push themselves to the limit.
"All people who live a hard life can do good things," said Palestinian swimmer Raad Aweisat, 17. "People who have everything just go to sleep. You must make yourself by yourself."
Many athletes have followed that philosophy.
Friba Razayee, 18, described herself as "the only girl in all of Afghanistan who loves boxing," but since she didn't have a coach she tried her hand at judo.
One year later, she is an Olympian.
Razayege grew up under the Taliban regime, which beat women who didn't wear the all-enveloping burqa in public and didn't let girls go to school.
Things are better now,but Razayee said she still can't do any aerobic training.
"Still it is not allowed for women to run on the streets," she said. "Running is important for any sport, but people would bother me."
"People who have everything just go
And so she trains in a room
to sleep. You must make yourself by yourself.
Raad Aweisat Palestinian swimmer
with a foreign coach and, in a shocker, with male judoists. She tries to ignore her neighbors' disapproval.
Now that she plans to carry the Afghan flag at Friday's opening ceremony, she said things are changing.
"My family says, 'You're doing a good thing. Don't worry about what people say,'" she said.
"People in Afghanistan are very proud of me now." Razayee said. "I hope I can be an example for them so women can play sports in Afghanistan."
Swimmer Mohammed Abbas, 26, had a different problem with his training regimen.
He had to spend a month cowering in his house while bombs rained down on Baghdad, and when the war ended U.S. troops commandeered the pool where he trains for soldiers' R&R in the hot Iraqi summer.
Abbas said the troops eventually pulled out and workers began to repair the looted swimming facility, which they renamed Freedom Pool.
He resumed his training and made it to Athens, flying out of Iraq aboard an Australian air force jet because the roads are still too dangerous.
Abbas has no illusions about his chances to medal, but said things might be different if he had had a couple of years with the right facilities.
"If you look at the American swimmers, they are very good," he said. "Maybe I need two years training there to compete."
by the sight of Sanaa Abu Bkeet running down the street in shorts threw stones at her, and Israeli security measures made it impossible for her to get to a proper track, so she trained barefoot on a sand path.
The 19-year-old came to Athens to run in the 800-meter event, but said she has spent most of her time getting used to running in spikes and on asphalt.
Gaza Strip residents horrified
"I know of other athletes who trained for four years for the Olympics. I trained only one month," she said. "It was so difficult to run on the sand. It is very soft and your feet can sink down. It is difficult to change from sand to the track."
Nonetheless, the athletes say adversity breeds strength. Iraqi judoist Haidar Ali Lazem, 29, is counting on it.
He was invited to train in Japan for two weeks before coming to Athens, and said he was shocked to find that judo mats have springs in them.
"At home I use an old gym without air conditioning and without enough equipment," he said. "At the same time, I pushed myself to train because of the Olympic Games. I will do my best, and when you see the match you can decide.
"I want to prove that Iraq is back in shape," he said. "I think this is a good place to prove that."
Aweisat, the Palestinian swimmer, trained in a backyard pool that was unheated and covered with a tin roof to prevent the Israelis from spotting it.
"If you want to know why I'm doing this, it's because I love my country," he said. "I know I won't medal. I just need to participate well."
But that doesn't stop him from dreaming about the future — specifically, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
"In China, I will take the gold medal," he said. "I promise you."
The Associated Press
Greek athletes Kostas Kenteris, center, and Katerina Thanou, the 100-meter silver medalist in Sydney, right, pose with their coach Christos Tekos taken at the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada in 2001. The two Greek Olympic sprinters were hospitalized Friday with injuries from a motorcycle wreck hours before a hearing on whether they intentionally dodged drug testers.
Greek star may drop out
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATHENS, Greece — Greece's biggest star might drop out of the Athens Games after missing a drug test, shaming the host nation as it opened its first Olympics in more than a century.
Greece's Olympic Committee will meet Saturday to discuss the bizarre case of spinner Kostas Kenteris, the 200-meter Olympic champion who is accused of dodging a drug test and was later hospitalized after a motorcycle crash.
A source within the committee, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that one topic at the meeting will be whether Kenteris should withdraw from the games.
tee probably will proceed with its doping case against him. A hearing was set for Monday.
Kenteris and fellow Greek spinner Katerina Thanou were in a motorcycle wreck Thursday night just hours after drug testers failed to find them in the Olympic village.
Kenteris and Thanou, the 100-meter silver medalist in Sydney, are due to remain in KAT hospital over the weekend, so the IOC delayed a Friday hearing in their case. They were in stable condition with cuts and bruises.
Even if he drops out, the International Olympic Commit-
Christos Tekson, the sprinters' coach, said it was not clear whether they will be healthy enough to compete at the games.
The track competition begins Aug. 20.
IOC president Jacques Rogge insisted the Olympics will not
"The games are much stronger than individuals," he said. "We have had widely publicized doping cases before, they have not damaged the image of the games."
be tarnished by the scandal
Rogge said the IOC's medical director, Patrick Schamash, went to the hospital near the main stadium complex Friday to give the sprinters a written summons to attend the disciplinary hearing.
The athletes did not appear. Greek Olympic team leader Yiannis Papadoyiannakis attended on their behalf and asked for the postponement.
The news dominated Athens headlines and overshadowed TV coverage of the Olympic flame relay as it headed for the opening ceremony, where Kenteris had been expected to light the cauldron.
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