That's a hijood not a hoodie, and its not on a hoodlum

5:16PM Wednesday August 20, 2008

Television locks certain images in place. Years of real life crime reconstructions have trained us to assume someone running, in clothing covering the head, is exiting the scene of the robbery/theft/assault/insert your own crime here.

Seeing the same image at the Olympics requires a certain perception adjustment.

That's not a hoodie on Roqaya al-Gassra, Bahrain's woman sprinter. It is actually a high-tech solution to conflicting demands. One is to be competitive in the blowtorch-ferocious sprints. The other is her religion, requiring she be covered. She has been quoted, often, as being insistent on this.

That solution tracks back to the ethnic riots in Sydney's south-west, and the appearance of Muslim lifeguards on Cronulla's beaches.

It's the 'hijood', a contraction of 'hijab' and 'hood', covering the head - except for the face - and made from a breathable and moisture-controlled fabric developed in Australia.

One of its first public sightings was on those lifeguards, letting them be seen helping all Australians. It was a potent symbol in easing the tensions, shown recently in the Russell Crowe-narrated documentary Bra Boys, with 'Bra' a contraction of Maroubra - one of the beaches and communities at the centre of the violence.

The rest of Al-Gassra's outfit on the track is not even close to figure-hugging.

That has her standing out in fields of athletes paying detailed attention to the question of clothing-caused wind resistance. A glance at the screen tells a viewer they have eliminated any possibility of losing tenths of seconds to this.

Then there is Al-Gassra.

It's probably reasonable to assume her racing outfit costs her a little time, which in a 200 metre sprint, is not helpful.

With the world record sitting at twenty-one seconds and change, anything not helping really doesn't help.

This raises a question. If Al-Gassra, with her self-imposed disadvantage, can still win, does that make her the best woman athlete in the sprint events?

My dollar says yes, it does.

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