Sameera Al Bitar, sometimes listed as "Samira" or "Al-Bitar", (born February 21, 1990, in Jordan),Al Bitar's bio page from the 2008 Olympics website; retrieved 2009-07-09. is a 2-time Olympic swimmer from Bahrain.
She was one of the first Muslim women representing an Arabian Peninsula country to swim in the Olympic Games, when she swam for Bahrain in the 50 metre freestyle at the 2004 Summer Olympics. The New York Times reported incorrectly that Bitar was "Bahrain's first female Olympic swimmer";"Tradition Was a Dreamer's Big Obstacle", The New York Times, August 21, 2004 in fact, Fatema Gerashi had represented Bahrain in swimming at the Sydney Olympics four years earlier."Trio of try-hards splash their way into our hearts" , The Times, September 22, 2000
Bitar completed the 50m race with a personal best of 31.00 seconds, enough to win her heat but not enough to advance to the next round."SUMMER 2004 GAMES; Tradition Was a Dreamer's Big Obstacle", New York Times, August 21, 2004"Women's 50m freestyle results", BBC, August 12, 2004
She again represented Bahrain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing"Bahrain gear up for Games", Gulf Daily News, August 1, 2008Bahrain Athletes Bound for Beijing, (U.S.) Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain; published 2008-07-30, retrieved 2009-07-09. and won her heat in the 50m freestyle. Her time of 30.32 was well ahead of second-place finisher in her heat, Benin's Gloria Koussihouede (at 37.09), but nonetheless insufficient to advance to the next round."Two down, two to go as swimmers fail in Beijing", The New Times, August 16, 2008
She graduated from The George Washington University School of Business, where she majored in Finance and Sports Management.Not your average freshman , The GW Hatchet; published 2008-10-9, retrieved 2009-07-09.
Career Represented Bahrain in two Olympics (Athens, 2004; Beijing, 2008), five World Championships (Barcelona, 2003; Montreal, 2005; Melbourne, 2007; Rome, 2009; Barcelona, 2013), and the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar.
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