Saudi Arabia’s Sarah Attar crosses 800m finish line as first woman to compete in track for her country

Like her teammate Wojdan Shaherkhani, Saudi Arabia's
Sarah Attar competed without

trouble. The first woman to compete in track and field for the conservative kingdom ran in the 800m on Wednesday morning.

[ Related: Saudi judoka loses first bout, promises she'll be back ]

Wearing long pants, a long-shirt and a head covering, Attar stood out from her opponents in tank tops and shorts. She finished her race in 2:44.95, 43 seconds behind the heat's winner. Still, the crowd in London cheered as she crossed the finish line. They knew that just by showing up and competing under the flag of a country that limits women's rights, she was accomplishing something that couldn't be measured by a medal.

Attar is a student at Pepperdine University, and has dual citizenship for the United States and Saudi Arabia. She chose to race on Saudi Arabia's behalf to inspire women there.

"For women in Saudi Arabia, I think this can really spark something to get more involved in sports, to become more athletic," she said. "Maybe in the next Olympics, we can have a very strong team to come."

More London Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Sports:
• Dismissed Algerian runner returns to win 1,500m final
• China's Liu Xiang experiences heartbreak, then heroic ending in hurdles
• Video: Why can't women break world records in track?