Saudi Arabian taekwondo standout Donia Abu Taleb 'dreams' of gold at Paris Olympics

With the 2024 Paris Olympics just under a month away, many athletes will be making their first appearance at the Games.

One of those making her debut is Donia Abu Taleb, the Saudi Arabian taekwondo standout who has become the first female athlete from the kingdom to qualify for the Olympics, the pinnacle of sports competition.

Abu Taleb had an unusual introduction to the sport: for years she trained at a boys' club because there were no girls to compete with.

The 27 year old has become the poster child for Saudi Arabia's push to champion women's athletics, and her face can be seen on posters and billboards throughout the kingdom. But the Jeddah native had much humbler beginnings.

“I started taekwondo when I was eight years old and there was no support like now,” Abu Taleb, who also has a law degree, told AFP after a recent training session in the southern mountain city of Abha.

“I always played with the boys in the boys' centre, originally without girls. I used to wear a head-covering on my hair so as not to show that I was a girl.”

Abu Taleb holds the distinction of being the first female Saudi to qualify for a Games. In 2012 in London, judo athlete Wojdan Shaherkani became the first Saudi woman to compete at the Olympics thanks to a special invitation from the International Olympic Committee.

Her historic debut lasted just 82 seconds, as she was beaten in the first round.

US-born Sarah Attar, another invitee, finished a distant last in her 800m heat on the track. Attar was one of four Saudi women to compete as wildcards at the 2016 Olympics, and they were followed by two more at Tokyo 2020.

Abu Taleb has taken advantage of the newfound state backing, bagging gold at the 2020 Arab Taekwondo Championship and bronze