JEDDAH, 24 August 2007 — Saudi athletes, with an eye on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, hope to put their best foot forward in the 11th International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Championship for men in Osaka, Japan, from Aug. 25 to Sept. 2.

The Saudis are using this event as a starting block for a fine run in Beijing, as has been the aim of their foresighted Saudi Athletics Federation (SAF) President Prince Nawaf ibn Mohammed.

“The Olympics has always been our main focus in the long haul,” said Prince Nawaf. “Our goal is to perform well and that’s what we have been striving from 2004. That’s when we began preparing for the 2008 Beijing event,” he added. Apart from showcasing their talents in the Osaka stage, the Saudi athletes will participate in several events to further hone their skills. The national team will participate in the 2nd Asian Indoor Games from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 in Macau, China, and the 11th Pan Arab Games from Nov. 11 to 25 in Egypt.

In Osaka, 11 athletes — cousins Hamid and Hamdan Al-Bishi, Mohammed Al-Khuwalidi, Sultan Al-Dawoudi, Ahmed Al-Marzoug, Hussain Al-Sabaa, Yahya Habeeb, Mohammed Al-Salihi, Mohammed Shaween, Ali Al-Amri, and Sultan Al-Hibshi — met the qualification standard. But Hamdan was ruled out of the competition after sustaining an injury while training in the US.

But all these athletes know that they will have their work cut out for them in their pursuit of gold. But they also know that they will be up against some of the world’s best in the sport and will allow them a chance to asses their abilities and fine tune their efforts in the time remaining before the Olympic spectacle.

Hamed Al-Bishi, 27, a 200m sprinter and a member of the 4x400m relay team, said, “It was not easy when we competed before, and it is going to be tough (in Osaka) because only the best will be there. We cannot underestimate anyone, and need to be fully prepared.” “We know it will not be easy, but what matters is that we make good use of this chance. There’ll always be something new to learn and pass on to our teammates back home.” Despite difficulties at work, Saudi long jumper Muhammad Al-Khuwalidi, 26, succeeded in qualifying to the World Cup for the second time in his career. He is optimistic about his participation because he was not able to make it last time due to injury. He withdrew two weeks before the World Cup in 2005 and this time round is more enthusiastic to make up for his absence.

The leap of faith in Saudi athletes is all the more heartening he says. “This shows Saudi athletics is on the upswing,” said Al-Khuwalidi, who is third among world competitors according to the IAAF ratings. He said, this determination to succeed in athletics is because of his passion.

For Sultan Al-Dawoudi, 28, silver medalist in the 15th Asian Games in the discus event, it is a privilege to have qualified for the event. “We look forward to make our country proud,” said Al-Dawoudi who joined the national team in 1999.

Hamdan Al-Bishi, 26, was all praise for the SAF president, and said Saudi athletics found the right man who is in the right position. “That is why it (athletics) is improving,” the Saudi national team captain said, adding that Prince Nawaf provided them with emotional and financial support. “Because of this we are no longer just participating in championships, we are now competing and winning,” he said.

Having more talented athletes in the team provides a big edge, he said. “It is good to know that Saudi athletics successes would last even after our generation is gone, for the fundamentals are already in place and more and more youth are taking up the sport,” he said.

He, however, called on the support of the private sector. “If we wanted to bag an Olympic medal and provide opportunities for athletes to compete with the best and beat them in internationals, then financial support is a must,” said Hamdan, who won the 400m run and was a member of the 4x400m relay team in the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006.

To sustain a good crop of athletes, the federation has to provide them with the best coaches too, and this is what the SAF president has done and is doing. The national coaches were sent abroad to enrich their experience by attending courses and meeting with experts.

Mohammed Al-Barrak, for example, is a member of the Asian Coaching Committee and helped a lot in developing the track events in Saudi Arabia. There are other national coaches who train in their clubs and continue to give birth to more talents such as Khalid Al-Mikhaimar of Al-Tarf Club. He won the best national coach award in 2003.

In addition to this, the prince also brought in many foreign coaches to share their knowledge and experience with the national coaches and the athletes here. Among these coaches are American John Smith and Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago.

These moves show that the SAF president is hoping to build on homegrown talents, and this was emphasized by the prince when he asserted that, “Saudis have excelled in Gulf, Arab and Asia despite the fact that some neighboring countries imported champions from Africa to represent them.” “This changed the level of competition. But this will not hinder our success by any means,” he added.

The Saudi national team’s massive successes started when they delivered five golds and one silver at the 14th Asian Games in Busan in 2002. The success of Hadi Souan was a milestone in Saudi Athletics. He brought the first silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 400m hurdles.

Now Souan, though retired, continues to help Saudi athletics by supervising the track and field events. He was chosen to become a member at the Athletes Committee in the Olympic Council of Asia from 2007 to 2011. The athletes’ achievements have propelled athletics to new heights. It has started to attract fans, who now have an alternative diet from the feast of football here. Sportsmen from other sports too are switching to athletics.

A case in point is a 20-year-old who practices other sport. He said that if the unstable conditions and lack of support and encouragement continued in his federation, he is more likely to switch to the SAF. “The SAF has been taking good care of its athletes and this is what matters to us.”