Rubab Raza ends fifth, but creates history
ATHENS Greece – Pakistan’s teenage swimmer Rubab Raza made history here at the Aquatic Centre even as she barely managed to finish fifth in her qualifying heat on August 20.
Rubab, 14, became the first Pakistani woman to take part in the Olympic swimming competition, finishing fifth with a time of 30.10 seconds in her qualifying heat of the women’s 50m freestyle event.
Considered among one of the brightest prospects for Pakistan swimming, Rubab can take pride in the fact that she finished ahead of three swimmers in her heat.
However, she fell short of her own qualifying mark of 29.91 seconds. Perhaps the presure of competing in the Olympics for the first time took its toll on the young girl.
Ermilinda Zamba of Mozambique won the race with the time of 29.34, just a fraction of a second ahead of Aina Andramanja of Madagascar. Both the women qualified for the next stage of the competition.
Kenya’s Eva Donde finished third with 29.47 seconds while Diane Etiennete of Mauritius was fourth with 30.0 seconds. Rubab finished ahead of Rouena Marku (Albania), Samar Nasir (Jordan) and Aminath Rouya (Maldives).
Source: The News
Date:8/21/2004
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