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Gaza's First Olympic Athlete
Sanaa Abu Bkheet is an 800m runner who became the first athlete from the Gaza Strip to represent Palestine at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Sanaa Abu Bkheet is an 800m runner who became the first athlete from the Gaza Strip to represent Palestine at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She was also the first woman to lead the Palestinian delegation at the Games. Sanaa still lives in the Gaza Strip, where she spoke to Mike Lanchin about her long and difficult journey to the biggest sporting stage in the world.
Photo: Sanaa Abu Bkheet at home in Gaza City (BBC 2018)
Last on
Tue 21 Aug 201823:50GMT
BBC World Service except News Internet
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- Tue 21 Aug 201808:50GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Tue 21 Aug 201823:50GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
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Sporting Witness
Personal stories of amazing moments from sporting history told by people who were there



