Who can forget the sight of thousands of fans in a packed Olympic Stadium in London rising to their feet to applaud Sarah Attar as she ran down the home straight in her 800m heat? For those present it did not matter that the Saudi athlete was unlikely to threaten the world record or even make the next round. They were cheering for effort and change — and, as images go, London 2012 is a pretty good starting point when it comes to Saudi Arabia and women in sport. Attar’s presence at the London Games was partly down to the pioneering work of the Saudi Arabian Athletics Federation (SAAF), one of the first Saudi sporting bodies to supervise training for female athletes. Attar’s triumph in London has brought a clamor for more women from the Kingdom to follow in her footsteps. Now, thanks to the groundbreaking Saudi athlete, women are being actively encouraged to take part in sport and the change, although not rapid, is noticeable. Female Saudi athletes now train at Aramco in the Eastern Province and take part officially in championships outside the Kingdom. Among them is Muzna Alnasser, who used to compete in the 800m and broke Attar’s record, and is now the supervisor of women athletes at the SAAF. Alnasser is working to promote athletics, and encourage more women to don their running spikes and get out on the track. She has become a role model and frequently shares her experiences with her fellow women runners. Sarah Attar’s triumph in London has brought a clamor for more women from the Kingdom to follow in her footsteps. Dr. Razan Baker Along with her colleagues at the federation — Saad Al-Asmari, Salim Alyami, and Abdullah Aljoud — she visits schools to discover students with potential, nurtures their talent and trains them. The schools include orphanages where girls have shown huge interest in athletics. This is just one example of how sport is becoming a platform for many women in Saudi from different parts of society. I’ve been following Saudi athletes for the past 15 years. They are known as tough competitors. Competitors such as 400m runner Hadi Souan, silver medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Saad Al-Asmari, 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist at the 1995 World Championships, have blazed a trial for generations to follow. The Kingdom’s government has big hopes in athletics and it is easy to see why. The country has produced champions in the past and athletics is a relatively inexpensive and simple sport — at its most basic level all school children need is a field in which to compete. I am optimistic about the future of women’s athletics in Saudi Arabia. The infrastructure and will to succeed are both present at a government level and a societal one. But there is another thing we can all do and that is to encourage the country’s children to get outside and run, jump and throw to their hearts’ content. Athletics is full of different options for people of all sizes and abilities. From the sprints (100m-400m) to distance races (800m-3,000m steeplechase and beyond) to field sports (long jump, shotput), there is a challenge for everyone. Athletics is one of the most exciting sporting disciplines to watch, with never-ending thrills — and probably the one sport anyone can try. Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view