Two of the best examples are women's 1,500-meters champion Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria and Burundi's Arthemon Hatungimana, who finished second in the men's 800 meters.
"This is my medal," said Boulmerka, who pulled away from Britain's Kelly Holmes in Wednesday's final to finish in 4 minutes, 2.42 seconds, and reclaim the world title she first won in 1991.
"But the victory is dedicated to every Algerian, men and women."
Hatungimana, 21, snatched a first medal in a major track competition for his small central African nation divided by tribal hatred, finishing in 1:45.64, just behind Kenya-born Dane Wilson Kipketer's 1:45.08.
"I'm running for my country, not for a tribe," said Hatungimana, who refused to say whether he was Tutsi or Hutu. "It is incredible to have a medal like this for a country like ours."
He was forced to leave his homeland to pursue his athletic career.
"You cannot train very well when you know there are machetes close by, guns in the woods," Hatungimana said.
He is shielded from the ethnic violence in a French sports school, yet radio always brings his thoughts back home.
"These are worries that constantly perturb my heart," he said. "Every day I fear for my family."
Boulmerka's problem is more personal. Her 1991 Tokyo triumph, the first world title by an African woman, brought her many moments of joy but it also exposed her to death threats from fundamentalist Moslems, outraged to see her running in bare legs.
So Boulmerka, often an outspoken advocate of women's rights, was careful to convey a message in her victory comments this time for all of Algeria.
"This is important for Algeria in general and for the women, because I am a woman," said the 1992 Olympic champion, who denied reports that she had been forced to move from the athletes' village here by more death threats, saying she simply found it "too crowded." (Reuters, LAT)
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