Cover Runner Sarah Attar Will Race In The Olympic Marathon

She ran in the Olympics in 2012, but now she will be doing a much longer race.

FILE -- In this Aug. 8, 2012 file photo, Saudi Arabia's Sarah Attar prepares to compete in a women's 800-meter heat during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London. Saudi Arabia will send four women to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, doubling its female participation after two females took part in the 2012 London Games for the first time. Two of the athletes will participate in track and field, one in judo and one in fencing, Hosam al-Qurashi, executive director of the Saudi Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press Sunday, July 31, 2016. Among the four is Sarah Attar, who was the first woman from Saudi Arabia to compete in Olympic track and field in 2012. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Published August 5, 2016 02:45PM

(AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

Our October 2015 cover runner Sarah Attar will be one of four Saudi women who will be competing in the Olympic Marathon in Rio.

This is huge news, as the Indian Express reports that the Saudi Olympic Committee did not even name the women who will represent the country, due to the strict gender divisions there. Attar and the other runners were invited by the International Olympic Committee to participate in the marathon.

The article stated, “Taking part in sport is not easy for Saudi women and finding women to go to the London Olympics was a challenge. Someone knew of the half-Saudi girl in California who liked running and so an invitation was made.”

It is also reported that Saudi Arabia would like to host the Olympics someday, but only if they can hold the women’s events in neighboring Bahrain.

Sarah Attar