Beijing Olympics Swimming Top Five 2008 Female Olympians

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, much attention was given to the athletes that were breaking records and making history. It was a rare corner of the world where you could turn on the evening news and not hear the latest victory in Michael Phelps quest for a record breaking eight gold medals. The US mens basketball team created a great buzz as their mission to reclaim the gold for the US basketball team unfolded. There were many other magical moments as players from around the world overcame poverty, adversity and other challenges to compete and win, and sometimes even lose, at the most coveted sporting event in the world.





Dara Torres - United States - Swimming





At 41 years old, Dara Torres came back to the pool in Beijing after entering the world of motherhood at age 39. She began her Olympic career at the Los Angeles games in 1984, winning her first gold medal in one of the relay events. She swam again in the 1988 and 1992 games, overcoming bulimia during this phase of her life. After sitting out the Atlanta games in 1996, she returned in 200 to win five medals in the Sydney Olympics. Retiring again, it was only after returning to the pool while trying to stay in shape during her pregnancy that her Olympic drive returned. After setting new American records in the qualifiers and preliminary events, she went on to win three silver medals in individual and relay events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making her the oldest swimmer ever to win an Olympic medal.





Oksana Chusovitina - Germany - Gymnastics





In the gymnastics world, 33 years of age is considered geriatric. However, someone forgot to pass Oksana Chusovitina the memo. She competed in her first Olympics in 1992, at age 17 as a member of the Unified team. In 1996, 2000 and 2004, she represented her home country of Uzbekistan. In the meantime, she gave birth to a son in 1999, who was found in 2002 to have leukaemia. She moved to Germany to seek treatment for him, later attaining citizenship and in 2008, competed at the Olympics for her new home country. Not only was she the oldest female gymnast at the games, but she also managed to win a sliver medal at the individual vault finals. Retirement does not seem to be on her mind, either. She says she will be back in 2012, reminding everyone she will only be 37!





Zakia Nassar - Palestine - Swimming





One of only four athletes from Palestine to compete in the Olympic games in Beijing, 19-year-old Zakia Nassar has struggled immensely to find a proper place to train to get ready for her own Olympic experience. As the only Olympic-length pools near her are in Israel and virtually unreachable due to roadblocks and travel issues, she has been training in pools that are less than half of that which she will be swimming in the games. Though she was not able to medal in Beijing, posting times well behind others in her 50-meter freestyle event, having the opportunity to represent the war-torn region was a dream come true for her.





Robina Muqimyr - Afghanistan - Track & Field





In a country where women have few rights and are generally not allowed to participate in sporting events, Robina Muqimyr has the distinction of being one of two female athletes to represent the country. Her training takes place in the stadium in Kabul where the Taliban performed its infamous executions. Rather than the high quality tracks that most runners train on, she runs on cement, sometimes in her bare feet. This is her second Olympic games, and she has great hopes that she will continue to improve by the 2012 Olympics in London.





Natalie du Toit - South Africa - Open Water Swimming





Most standard Olympic athletes, male or female, are in tip-top physical condition, with no true handicaps further than injury or strain that is a part of their events. After failing to qualify at the 2000 Sydney games, du Toit lost her leg in a motorcycle accident, seemingly killing her dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete. She pulled herself up and competed as a swimmer in the Paralympics, but for her that was not enough. In 2008, she won a spot on the marathon swim team for her country and placed 16th of 25 athletes in the final. She has showed tremendous strength in overcoming her disability to compete with Olympic caliber athletes, without physical disabilities.





While these are just a handful of the hundreds of inspiring stories of athletes overcoming adversity and challenge to compete at the Olympic Games, they are some of the most inspirational women of the 2008 Olympics. Some won medals, others did not even qualify for contention but all put their heart and soul into their performance, showing the world what women of all ages, races and backgrounds can accomplish, given a fighting chance. These are the role models that future generations should know and emulate.

Martin Reed is the developer and owner of Female Forum - an online community for women. He also blogs about how to develop successful online communities.

beijing olympics swimming: 2008 olympic swimming

beijing olympics swimming: 2008 olympic swimming

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