Saudi Arabia also made a historic Olympic record by having two female athletes in the team for the first time, along with seventeen men playing for five different sports.

Six athletes had competed in Beijing, including discus thrower Sultan Mubarak Al-Dawoodi, who became the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.

In July, Qatar announced that it would include women in its delegation to the 2012 Games, thus "increas[ing] pressure on Saudi Arabia" to do the same.

[5][6] In November 2011, Al Arabiya reported that "Saudi Arabia plans to send a female equestrian team to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to avoid being barred from taking part".

The BBC described the decision as "a huge step, overturning deep-rooted opposition from those opposed to any public role for women".

It noted that the change had been "led by King Abdullah, who has long been pushing for women to play a more active role in Saudi society".

[11] The IOC announced in mid July 2012 that Saudi Arabia had entered two female athletes, Judoka Wojdan Shaherkani and 800m-runner Sarah Attar, to participate in the 2012 Olympics.