Tuesday night, Bahrain’s Roqaya Al-Gassra ran the 200-meter dash, dressed head-to-toe in a Muslim hijab. In stifling heat, and with only her face peeking out, she finished first, ahead of competitors in uniforms resembling bikinis. Bahrain is one of the many countries that have jumped onboard a rapidly growing worldwide trend - promoting female Olympians. While American female athletes have competed in Olympic Games for decades, their male counterparts have grossly outnumbered them until now. 42% of the 10,500 athletes competing this summer are women, the highest percentage ever, and that number is expected to increase to 50% in London in 2012.
Quick to capitalize on this growing trend are sporting goods companies like Nike , who designed Al-Gassra’s uniform in keeping with her Muslim customs. For Nike and competitors like Adidas, the most growth they have experienced internationally has been in athletic products for women.
While many Arab nations remain steadfast in their refusal to allow females to compete in the Games, the fact that Al-Gassra was there in the first place further emphasizes the strides female athletes have made worldwide. And, with companies like Nike, ready and willing to design uniforms specific to their traditions and ethinicities, it’s only a matter of time before female athletes outnumber the men.
