[News] A Greek mother, throwing for Palestine

[News at freedomarchives.org]

A Greek mother, throwing for Palestine
Granted a nationality change, Sakorafa says she's making a point.

By Brian Murphy
Of The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece | The desire was still there. So were flashes of her world 
record form.

Just the old distance was gone.

No matter. Sofia Sakorafa got in her javelin throws and will be going to 
the Olympics. This time, however, the 47-year-old Greek mother will be 
wearing the colors of the Palestinians and the cause she has adopted.

''Sport is a political movement,'' said Sakorafa, explaining her decision 
to return to the javelin runway after 17 years. ''It isn't a mere social 
event 
 Sport stands for ideas and ideals that, perhaps, other movements 
don't have the strength or ability to convey.''

Nationality has become an increasingly flexible standard in international 
competitions.

Olympic organizers in Athens have hunted for world-class athletes with even 
a sliver of Greek. Qatar raised its sports profile by putting up cash for 
top athletes willing to compete for the tiny Gulf nation.

In May, the International Olympic Committee gave permission for nationality 
changes for Sakorafa and 15 others.

Her case, though, stands out.

Sakorafa had her Olympic moment in Moscow in 1980. Then she set a women's 
world mark at the 1982 European championships with 243 feet, 5 inches and 
held the record for nine months. She remains a sports hero in Greece.

Her midlife return is all about trying to grab a bit more of the Olympic 
stage for the five-member Palestinian team, which should get a lavish 
welcome by the strongly pro-Palestinian Greeks.

During a visit in May to the West Bank, Sakorafa said competing under the 
Palestinian flag would be her ''life dream.''

There's also some local payback with all the attention.

Sakorafa, a municipal councilor in Maroussi, joined opponents of a 
1,592-bed media village in her suburb, the site of the main Olympic 
stadium. They claimed the project broke zoning codes and that small 
merchants would be hurt when the facility becomes a major shopping center 
after the games.

The Socialists — then in charge of Olympic works — dumped Sakorafa from the 
party's parliamentary ticket for national elections in March.

''My goal is to compete for the Palestinians and for peace. That's all. And 
that's what I want to convey to the world, not the competitive aspect,'' 
she said. ''Sakorafa can no longer throw a javelin as she did before.''

That was evident May 24 at a small meet in Hania on the island of Crete — 
the same field where she set the world mark 22 years ago. Her record toss 
then was so unexpected that officials did not have a scale to weigh the 
javelin as required to confirm the result. They finally found one at a 
nearby maternity ward.

This time, Sakorafa — in her first appearance representing the Palestinians 
— came in fourth with 154 feet, 11 inches. That's not even in the 
neighborhood of the current women's record of 234-8, using the new style 
javelin with its center of gravity moved forward to shorten the flight 
distance.

But Sakorafa never stopped smiling. She only needed to take part in one 
meet to seal her Olympic appearance.

''I'm sure everyone realizes a 47-year-old woman who hasn't competed for 17 
years doesn't have any ambitions of setting records or winning medals,'' 
she said. ''But I want to be a worthy competitor. I'm not just going to 
throw without trying. I will just do my best.''

Such simple aspirations could have a strong appeal in Athens with the stain 
of doping spreading through athletics. Sakorafa knows it well. In her time, 
the secretive East Bloc athletic programs were suspected of rampant abuse 
of performance-boosting drugs. But it was everywhere, she claimed.

''It existed then as it does today,'' she said. ''Athletes have always been 
predisposed to try to steal — if you will — victory, records and benefits. 
Doping exists. That's a fact. We have to fight it in some way.''

Her idea: Ban lucrative sponsorship and other financial rewards in major 
sports.

''Look, if someone said they'd offer $5 billion to jump off the fifth 
floor, don't you think many people would do it without considering the 
consequences?'' she explained. ''That's what's happening in sports. The 
athlete never thinks about the consequences of doping. It's all about the 
money.''

In 1972, when Sakorafa was in high school, Palestinian militants 
infiltrated the Munich Olympics and killed 11 members of the Israeli team. 
It was her first exposure to the level of bitterness in the region.

It's worse now. Sakorafa terms the current Palestinian retaliations, 
including suicide bombers, ''appalling actions.'' But she is also outraged 
at perceived injustices. This is the target of her javelin.

''It is a country under occupation. Children are killed. People are 
killed,'' she said. ''Homes are destroyed. Families are destroyed 
 I think 
the least we can do is show solidarity for their cause. That's why.''

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