An Afghan woman in the starting blocks

Saturday morning in the ‘Bird Nest' stadium, the 100m heats have started. On track seven, 100m Olympic champion Belarus Yuliya Nestsiarenka is warming up. On track eight, Afghanistan's Robina Muqimyar wears a track suit and a scarf hiding her hair.

The first ran the 100m in 10'93''100; the second, in 14 sec 14 (her reference time is 14 sec 06).

At the Athens Games in 2004, Robina Muqimyar and her teammate Friba Razayee were the first two Afghan women to participate in an Olympics. Fours years later in Beijing, Robina Muqimyar is alone. Mahbooba Ahadyar who was supposed to compete at the 800m and 1500m, disappeared in July.

In Afghanistan, she was threatened by Islamists opposed to any women's participation in the Games, although she was wearing a scarf and a track suit. Consequently, she flew to Italy to prepare the Olympics at the training camp of Formia. On July 4^th, she disappeared without notice, taking neither passport nor luggage. The IOC said she had asked for political asylum in Norway.

This morning, Robina Muqimyar finished last out of 85 competitors with a time of 14 sec 80. It's the end of the Games for the 22-year-old athlete. "I am happy to have come to Beijing", she said to journalists. "I am happy and I love that. I am a champion in Afghanistan".

Afghanistan has never won a medal in its history, but the country counts on taekwondo to gain its first one. All eyes are on the world number two Nesar Ahmad Bahawi to enter his country's name in the history of the Games.