Saudi sportswoman Donia Abu Talib has made history by becoming the first Saudi woman to earn direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in taekwondo. Her qualification for the Games was secured during the Asian qualifiers in March, an achievement that was celebrated by Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, the Minister of Sport and head of the Saudi Olympic Committee.
Since 2012, Saudi women have been allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, but Talib’s qualification marks the first time a Saudi woman has earned a spot purely through sporting merit rather than through a quota. The journey of women in the Modern Olympic Games has been gradual, with significant milestones over the years. Initially, the Olympics were reserved for male athletes, with women only admitted in 1900 in sports deemed compatible with their femininity. It was not until 2007 that the Olympic charter mandated the presence of women in every sport, and by 2014, the IOC had added gender parity to the 2020 Olympics agenda.
Saudi Arabia’s stance on women’s sports has evolved significantly. The country faced the threat of exclusion from the IOC before sending its first two female athletes to the London 2012 Olympics. Donia’s journey to the Paris Olympics was fraught with challenges; she had to train at home from the age of 13 after being banned from the boys’ club where she had competed for five years. Inspired by her late father, who encouraged her to take up taekwondo, she overcame significant barriers to become a seasoned international athlete. Donia has won tournaments worldwide, including a bantamweight bronze at the 2022 Asian Championships and a flyweight bronze at the World Championships in Mexico.
More recently, Donia’s success has earned her support from Saudi sporting bodies, and she acknowledges the role of administrative and technical staff in her achievements. Ranked 16th in the world, winning even one flyweight bout in Paris’s Grand Palais this summer would further solidify her pioneering status. Her ambition, however, reaches even higher, as she has her sights set on gold, driven by the memory of her late father.
Donya Abu Talib’s historic achievements extend beyond Olympic qualification. As the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics in taekwondo, she has also secured fourth place in the international rankings for the -53 kg weight category as of June. Her recent Asian Championship gold medal, another first for Saudi women’s taekwondo, positions her as a strong contender for further success.
Abu Talib’s journey has not been without its challenges. She faced a lack of female gyms when she started the sport as a toddler and now trains with male sparring partners as the first female player in Team Saudi. Her perseverance was evident when she fought her way to a bronze medal at the Guadalajara 2022 World Taekwondo Championships, despite being knocked out in the semi-finals. This achievement marked her as the first female athlete from Saudi Arabia to medal at a World Taekwondo Championships, following her earlier success at the Asian Taekwondo Championships.
“I’m obsessed with my dream,” said Talib in a recent video posted on social media. “I mean, I fall asleep, I wake up all I think about is Paris. I feel like a global competitor since I qualified for Paris. It’s not an easy place to be in. So yes, I’m a tough opponent.”
Her coach, Kurban Bugdaev, believes she has the potential to reach the top of the sport, citing her height, flexibility, stamina, and fighting spirit.
A turning point in history
The presence of Talib in Paris comes exactly 40 years after a watershed moment, as Moroccan hurdler Nawal El Moutawakel became the first Arab African woman to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games. This victory was a source of pride not only for her but also for many young girls and women worldwide, who felt energised and motivated as a result.
40 years later, El Moutawakel will attend the Olympic Games Paris 2024 as a member of the IOC. For the first time in history, the Olympic Games will achieve full gender equality, with exactly the same number of male and female athletes. This milestone represents a significant advancement from the 1924 Games, where women made up only 5 percent of the competitors. By the 1984 Los Angeles Games, women constituted 23 percent of the athletes. Thanks to the growing commitment of the IOC, these numbers have continued to increase, with women representing almost 49 percent of the nearly 11,000 athletes at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. In Paris, the desired 50:50 ratio will be achieved.
In addition to achieving gender parity, the IOC has changed its rules to place gender equality directly in the spotlight at the Opening Ceremony. Each team is not only allowed but also actively encouraged to have one female and one male athlete jointly carry their flag. The Olympic Games provide a rare occasion for female athletes to make headlines as much as their male counterparts. To ensure this, the IOC has adjusted the schedule to provide a gender-balanced number of medal events and total competition hours during prime global broadcasting times.
The Paris Games will be a proud moment for the Olympic movement, culminating the hard work by the IOC, sports federations, National Olympic Committees, organisers, and, of course, the athletes. These Games will represent the pinnacle of the IOC’s strategic commitment to gender equality, but it is certainly not the finish line.
Building on this extraordinary achievement, the IOC is now encouraging stakeholders to shift their focus beyond the field of play, particularly to the situation of coaches, which requires considerably more attention. Over the past 10 years, only 10% of Olympic coaches have been women, a number that has hardly changed. Coaches are visible and influential decision-makers, and it is essential for women and young girls to see female coaches to believe they too can achieve positions of responsibility and influence.
Multiple other challenges remain, but just like the athletes served by the IOC, success is not easily achieved. It takes time, effort, courage, and tenacity. The goal now is to ensure that the positive steps towards true gender equality at Paris 2024 translate into lasting change in the Arab world.
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