As the Summer Olympics begin in just a few short days I was curious about the UAE's participation. This summer an expected contingent of 32 athletes from the United Arab Emirates will compete in the London games.
The UAE Football (or soccer) team makes up the majority of the UAE contingent and won a place at the Olympics for the first time. They will face Great Britain, Senegal and Uruguay.
As a reminder of the region we live in...weightlifter Khadija Mohammad will be only the second woman ever to be chosen to the UAE Olympic team. The only other woman to compete for the UAE since it began participating in the Olympics in 1984 was Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in the Beijing Summer Olympics. The daughter of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, competed in taekwondo.
Only Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have yet to have female athletes participate in an Olympic Games, although Brunei and Qatar are expected to send women to take part in London.
This year, two of the three shooting team members also belong to Dubai's ruling family. Shooting is the only event the UAE has ever won an Olympic medal in, with another member of Dubai's ruling family, Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammad bin Hasher Al Maktoum, claiming gold in the double trap in Athens in 2004.
In comparison the US has competed in every Olympics with the exception of the 1980 Moscow Games and won 110 medals in last summer's Beijing Olympics alone. This summer nearly 600 athletes will represent the red, white and blue and are expected to be atop the medal standings.
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