Abdul Baser Wasiqi

Abdul Baser Wasiqi (born 12 July 1975[1]) is an Afghan athlete known for completing the marathon at the 1996 Summer Olympics despite suffering an injury before the event.

Abdul Baser Wasiqi participating in the 1996 Olympic Trials.

Wasiqi represented Afghanistan at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[2] He injured his leg (hamstring muscle) before the marathon, but took part nonetheless.[3] He completed the race despite his injury, after limping the whole way, with a time of 4:24:17, much slower than his personal best of two hours and thirty-three minutes.[4][5] He finished 111th and last, nearly an hour and a half behind the second-slowest competitor. Wasiqi reached the stadium and found "workmen [...] preparing the arena for the closing ceremony" and "tarpaulin being laid across the running track".[6][7] Preparations were suspended long enough for Wasiqi to reach the finish line.

Wasiqi was the only Afghan competitor at the 1996 Games.[4]

References
  1. "Abdul Baser Wasiqi". Olympedia. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. Official Report of the 1996 Olympic Games (PDF). Vol. 3. International Olympic Committee. 1997. p. 106 – via LA84 Digital Library.
  3. "The true spirit of the Games", Reuters, August 27, 2004
  4. "Taleban hope to get ban revoked", Reuters, August 17, 2000
  5. Olympic Track and Field, Brian Belval, 2007, ISBN 1-4042-0971-9, p.24
  6. "Britain stuck in time warp as the world races further ahead", The Telegraph, August 5, 1996
  7. "Sibson could tell Sunderland about hidings to nothing", The Guardian, January 6, 2006


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