Safia Abukar Hussein (born 1 January 1981) is a sprinter who competed internationally for Somalia. Hussein was the first Somali female to compete at the Olympics for her country[1][2] when she competed in the 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

She was not always supported in Somalia, where female athletes are uncommon and older men would criticise her for not staying at home.[3][4] Hussein's father disliked the idea, as he was concerned that it would prevent her from finding a husband. Nevertheless, he subsequently allowed her to compete in Sydney for the sake of Somalia.[5] Ultimately, she finished her heat in sixth place and did not progress to the next round. [6]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Somalia at the Olympics". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  2. ^ "First female competitors at the Olympics by country". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ^ "With no government in their country, Somalia rallies under banner of sports". Rediff.com. 8 September 2000. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  4. ^ Gough, David (15 August 2000). "Somalia: the little Olympic team that could". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  5. ^ Seibert, Sam; Santoro, Lara; Roberts, Melissa; Terziff, Juliette; Ephron, Dan (11 September 2000). "Happy Just To Be Here". Newsweek. p. 34. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  6. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Safia Abukar Hussein". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2019.


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