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RIO DE JANEIRO -- For a newly-minted Olympian who had just blazed a tiny trail for Saudi Arabian women, Lubna al-Omair sure looked miserable.Instead of pride, the fencer wore the face of humiliation. Her bout, make that rout, at the Rio Games lasted just 1 minute and 44 seconds. Too quick to enjoy; long enough to hurt.Afterward, waiting in rain for a minibus to whisk her away from a fight, but hopefully not an experience, to forget, al-Omair wasnt in the mood for sharing her feelings about becoming the first Saudi woman to fence at an Olympics.Does she look like she wants to talk? said her minder, waving this reporter away.No, frankly, she didnt. Instead, al-Omair looked like another Saudi butterfly crushed by the wheels of discrimination.Handing out wild cards for token Saudi women to participate at the Olympics is billed as a well-meaning effort to promote female sport. But, at the second games where this has happened, it still feels like a sham. The simple fact, proven first at the 2012 London Games and now in Rio de Janeiro, is that inviting courageous but clearly ill-equipped women from a country where they are treated as second-class citizens leaves them vulnerable to a hammering when they are then dropped in the deep end of Olympic competition.How does a 15-0 trouncing, fencings equivalent of 6-0, 6-0 in tennis, only far quicker, of al-Omair by a Brazilian ranked 80th advance the cause of Saudi women? Will it impress conservative Saudi men whose minds must be changed or simply comfort their view that sport isnt suitable for women? Will it inspire a new generation of Saudi girls to grow up hoping that they, too, might one day have their tails whipped for an Olympic TV audience?Clearly, as well as opportunities to participate, Saudi women also need the International Olympic Committee to insist that their country guarantee them a fighting chance, with all the facilities and equal opportunities that would require.Human Rights Watch says progress for Saudi women in sports has been incremental since two of them competed for the first time in London. At the Rio Games, there are four Saudi women, although two are already out.In judo, Wujud Fahmi also was gone in blinks of the eye against a competitor from Mauritius who beat her with bout-ending ippon maneuver seconds into the first round of the womens 52-kilogram competition.Still to compete are sprinter Cariman Abu al-Jadail in the 100 meters and Sarah Attar in marathon.According to her web site, Attar lives and trains in California and has completed nine marathons. She ran the 800 at the London Olympics, finishing last and almost a lap behind the winner of her heat in first-round qualifying.Attar says their participation in London definitely created new perspectives.There is now a generation of Saudi Arabian girls growing up with the possibility of women competing in the Olympics, she wrote in running magazine Like the Wind ahead of the Rio Games. They see sports and athletic competition as something they can strive towards, and that is incredibly powerful.Human Rights Watch isnt so glowing.Its pre-Olympics report on womens sports in Saudi Arabia spoke of the profound discrimination that holds back womens and girls participation.Women cannot be seen by men while jogging in sweat pants, much less wearing fitted or revealing shorts. Most women cover their hair and face with a veil known as the niqab and all are required to wear a loose black dress known as the abaya in public. Although private women-only gyms and sports clubs are growing in popularity in major Saudi cities, public schools dont offer physical education for girls.Al-Omair traveled to Rio from the eastern Saudi city of Khobar. Other than that, this petite pioneer leaves as something of a mystery. The Rio Games information site offers no biographical material about her other than age (29), height (1.52 meters; 5 feet) and weight (45 kilograms; 99 pounds). It lists athlete as her occupation.Though the Saudi fencer possesses the requisite skill level, she lacks experience in top-level tournaments, the governing International Fencing Federation said in a statement to The Associated Press. Participation in more regional and international competitions will significantly increase her confidence and be of major importance in her preparations for future events.Through their meshed face masks, the Brazilian who beat al-Omair, Tais Rochel, could sense the nervousness of her inexperienced opponent.She knows the fencing technique, but she was afraid, Rochel said. In fencing, you cannot be afraid. And I could feel it.Of course, Saudi women have to start somewhere.But the Olympics are too competitive, too intimidating, too high profile for those reduced to taking baby steps.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicesterAir Force 1 Svart Norge . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead. Air Force 1 Just Do It Norge . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. http://www.airforce1norge.com/ . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Nike Air Force 1 Billig . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. Nike Blazer Norge . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach.COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland coach Brenda Frese is still tinkering with her lineup before the Terrapins head into a more challenging part of their schedule.A deep and talented roster has given her plenty of options.Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 19 points and No. 6 Maryland routed Maryland-Eastern Shore 106-61 on Wednesday night.Maryland (2-0) got another big game from two of its highly touted freshmen, Kaila Charles and Destiny Slocum, both of whom got their second straight start. Slocum had 10 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Charles scored 14 points. Another freshman Jenna Staiti scored all 10 of her points in the second half and had 14 rebounds.We spend a lot of time talking about when youre number is called be ready to play, Frese said. I think you see that we have a lot of combinations that we can go with. Defensively, we have to get a lot better.Maryland shot 45 of 80 (56 percent) from the field and scored 22 points off 12 turnovers. Brionna Jones had 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, two shy of 34th career double-double.The Terrapins beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 106-30 last year and were never threatened in this one. Walker-Kimbrough made six of seven shots from the field for 16 points and Maryland led 54-29 at the half.I thought we played together, Walker-Kimbrough said. Coach called some pretty good sets in the beginning. We just took what the defense gave us. We have so many weapons.The Hawks were just 10 of 29 (34.5 percent) from the field and were outrebounded 29-12 in the opening two quarters.Maryland continued to pull away in the third quarter and a jumper by Charles at the buzzer boosted the margin to 80-50. Kiah Gillespie had six of her 12 points the final quarter for the Terps.Ciani Byrom led the Hawks (1-1) with 14 points, Mariiah McCoy finished with 10.ddddddddddddI thought the kids showed a lot of character, a lot of fight, Hawks coach Fred Batchelor said. They knew we were playing against a team where we were an inferior opponent. I was really impressed with the ability of our kids to keep their heads up and continue to have some confidence.BIG PICTUREUMES: Despite the loss, Maryland-Eastern Shore has an experienced lineup that could make a run for a title in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.Maryland: The Terrapins high-powered offense has completely overmatched their opening two opponents and scored at least 100 points for the second straight game.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Terrapins did nothing to hurt their ranking. With a couple of the top teams playing each other over the next few days, they could move up.SPREADING THE WEALTHNo player on Maryland has been on the floor for more than 25 minutes in either of the opening two games. Frese has been able to freely rotate players and gotten contributions from almost her entire roster. At least 12 players have scored points in both of the Terrapins victories this season.HELP ON THE WAYMaryland-Eastern Shore guard Moengaroa Subritzky won an appeal for another year of eligibility but must sit out the first three games. The New Zealand native was a First Team all-MEAC selection and led the team in numerous offensive categories last season, including three-point percentage (.326), three-pointers made (44) and steals (29).UP NEXTUMES: The Hawks play the second of a three-game road trip Saturday against in-state rival UMBC.Maryland: The Terps host another local school as they play Mount St. Marys on Friday. ' ' '