Gezah:Competing in Olympics was my dream

The revolution disrupted her training but Hala Gezah’s “childhood dream” of competing in an Olympics came true as the only Libyan woman at the 2012 London Games competed in the 100 metres. Last year the 23-year-old’s sessions on a Tripoli track were thrown into disarray by the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi; now she is posing for pictures with Olympics legend Usain Bolt. “In 2008 we could practise as normal, but with the revolution it was very difficult. Training was virtually non-existant,” said her coach Abdullah Zaho, wearing a top in the red, black and green of Libya’s new rulers. “We were afraid,” he said. “We had lots of problems, above all because there was no communication between us and the local federation, and the Libyan Olympic Committee had no money. “That made our task difficult.” The committee was run by Mohamed Kadhafi, one of the ousted ruler’s sons. Before the London Games, Gezah had taken part in only one race this year, at the biennial African athletics championships in Benin. From:Gulftoday