Palestinian swimmer beats all odds

Zakia Nassar, the 21-year-old Palestinian swimmer who last week fulfilled her lifelong ambition to compete at the Olympics, deserves a gold medal for her tenacity.

Having had neither a coach nor access to an Olympic-sized pool for the past year, Nassar, who is currently studying dentistry, had no option but to train on her own at a 12 m public pool.

The coach Nassar had a year ago left her to her own devices when the 25 m pool in Bethlehem closed down.