Iraq's top woman sprinter has survived sniper fire and a drive-by shooting to compete in this year's Olympic Games. Dana Abdul-Razzaq has also endured interruptions to her training because of curfews caused by the violence that plagues her country.

“I feel that this chance is the pay-off for all my efforts,” the 21-year-old told The Times during a training session at Baghdad's dilapidated Shaab Stadium.

But a final hurdle threatens to halt her Olympic dreams in their tracks. Iraq's participation in the Beijing games is in jeopardy after Baghdad disbanded the country's Olympic body, prompting the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to write a letter demanding a reversal of the decision.

Baghdad said that it disbanded the old committee, created after the invasion, because it had failed to achieve a quorum or hold elections. Jaza'er al-Sahlaani, the spokesman for an interim Olympic Committee, told The Times that documents had also been uncovered that might lead to corruption charges against some former senior officials. The interim body, headed by the Sports Ministry, will function for three months until a new, full-time committee is elected.

Emmanuelle Moreau, spokeswoman for the IOC, described the Government's action this month as “serious interference”. But an Iraqi official defended the decision, saying that Iraq was considering taking legal action against the IOC.

“Our decision is legitimate and justified so we will never reverse it because this would be a huge loss for sports in Iraq,” said Mr al-Sahlaani.

He added: “I hope that the IOC will revise its position and change their decision because it was a wrong decision and the coming days will prove that.”

The IOC said yesterday, however, that the matter will be considered at an executive board meeting in Athens in June. If Iraq is ultimately found to have gone against the Olympic charter the country could be prevented from taking part in the Beijing Games.

Such a move would be a particularly cruel blow for Ms Abdul-Razzaq who has put her life on the line to make the Olympic squad along with six other Iraqi athletes.

Last year the sprinter and two colleagues were training on a track in the Iraqi capital when a sniper shot at them. “There were three of us training and three bullets, one for each,” she recalled. “My bullet passed close to my legs and embedded itself in a tree.” The young woman fainted in shock.

“I felt as though I was suffocating. I thought that I had become a target but I realise that they had been targeting sport in general.”

On another occasion, gunmen opened fire on the car she was travelling in with her coach, Yussef Abdul-Rahman, in Doura, a once-notorious al-Qaeda enclave in south Baghdad. They both escaped unscathed.

Sportsmen and women are a prime target for insurgents in Iraq, putting many people in the country off sport or forcing athletes to move overseas. Iraqi women have an additional challenge because of a religious and cultural opposition towards them pursuing a sporting career. As a result there are currently only three or four professional female athletes in Iraq.

Undeterred by the obstacles, Ms Abdul-Razzaq, who trains in a conservative pair of leggings under knee-length shorts, went on to set a new Iraqi record for the 200 meters at the Arab Games in Cairo last November, coming fourth in the race overall with a time of 24.8 seconds. She earned one of five “wild card” entries to the Beijing Olympics given to Iraq by the IOC.

The prospect of competing in the 100 metre and 200 metre sprints is daunting but the runner says that she has had plenty of experience in handling pressure.

“I am used to stress because of the situation here,” said Ms Abdul-Razzaq. “When I see the deteriorating situation in Iraq sometimes I feel as though life is going to stop. This pushes me to do more.”

Ms Abdul-Razzaq, whose father is a professional cyclist, whose brother is a bodybuilder, and whose 16-year-old fiancé is a sprinter, became a full-time runner only after the invasion in March 2003. She had previously avoided professional athletics because, Uday Hussein, Saddam's eldest son, who was in charge of sport, used to punish athletes who failed to obtain good results.

With just five years of experience as a sprinter, Ms Abdul-Razzaq does not think she has a chance of winning a medal in Beijing but hopes at least to set a new Iraqi record. She travelled to Arbil in northern Iraq in May to start a three- month training campaign, which will also take her to Syria. She will then fly to China - provided that that the Iraqi Government and the IOC resolve their differences.