ATHENS, Greece – She often runs in a headscarf and her personal best is nowhere near the world’s top stars, but when Robina Muqimyar takes to the track for her 100-meter heat Friday she will make Olympic history.

Ms. Muqimyar, 18, is in Athens as one of the first two women to represent Afghanistan in the games. Under the previous regime, women were not allowed to compete, but the fall of the Taliban has produced the kind of story that – among all the drugs and scandals – encompasses the Olympic spirit.

No one expects her to qualify from a heat that includes the former Olympic and world champion Gail Devers and the former world champion Zhanna Block. For Ms. Muqimyar, simply being there is remarkable enough.

Last year, the Afghan selectors were touring schools looking to fill their five wild-card places, and wanted a runner. Ms. Muqimyar stuck her hand up, whipped off her sandals and, still wearing long trousers, a frock and a scarf, showed what she could do.

Her first times were the wrong side of 15 seconds, but her enthusiasm won the day and, a year later, she paraded in Athens as an Olympian.

To train, she was forced to use the only stadium in Kabul – the one in which the Taliban executed its enemies. The concrete track was broken up and Ms. Muqimyar often had to run barefoot because her shoes were falling apart.

She relished training in the open air. Under the Taliban, she was forced to stay indoors and was forbidden a school education. “We were all like female prisoners. Not just me, but all Afghan women.”

For the past three months, she has been based in Greece and has worked hard. She has lost weight, gained confidence, and improved her best time to 13.76 seconds – still far slower than most rival competitors. When the Daily Telegraph met her, she was bubbly and giggling, happy to lark about with her Norwegian mentor and interpreter.

“It’s so fantastic to be here, among other athletes, to walk around the Olympic Village in the company of all these famous people,” she said. “It was so difficult to train in Kabul because there were no facilities – only one stadium with its broken cement.”

Friday, Ms. Muqimyar will take her place in lane two in heat six.

“From when I was very young, I always used to run about, but I was never able to go out and run properly. When the war ended, I began going to school to learn to read, and they asked the students if we wanted to do sports. I enjoyed it, and when they came looking for volunteers for the Olympics I was the first up.”

Quite how she will react when she walks out in front of a large crowd and lines up for her first “proper” race is impossible to predict.

She admitted that she was spooked by the fireworks above the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony. The bangs and flashes brought back bad memories of the fighting in her country.

“But this is important for my country, too. The women in Afghanistan will see us and know that they can do anything. Just to go out there and stand on the track will be like winning.”