There was a really touching story in the March 29 issue of Sports Illustrated about the rebuilding of Iraq’s sports infrastructure and its efforts to send a team to the Athens Olympics this summer.
In 1986, Saddam Hussein’s son Uday took over the leadership of the Olympic committee in Iraq, and used intimidation and torture to obtain good results from the country’s teams. He turned the Olympic headquarters into a prison and torture chamber, and as a result, Iraqis who were athletes were often reluctant to participate in sports at any level, for fear of attracting Uday’s attention. Many young athletes were forbidden by their parents from joining any organized sporting competition at all.
Since the fall of the Hussein regime, Iraq has been getting some help from the IOC to send a team to Athens this summer. Though it’s unlikely the team will win any medals, the presence of Iraqi athletes competing without fear of consequences for the first time in many years will make these a very special Olympic Games.