46-year-old disabled athlete Khamis Zaqoot and 24-year-old woman runner Worood Sawalha, both from Asira of the West Bank city of Nablus, are gearing up in their training for the upcoming London Olympics, aiming to break world records in the games to be held in August.

Zaqoot will represent the Palestinian national team with other athletes in the coming Olympics in London. He said he hopes that his team will strive for big achievements in the games and make their names and the Palestine internationally renowned.

The Palestinian Union of Olympic Games for Disable Athletes earlier this year approved a plan to test the measurements and abilities of the disabled athletes who would represent the Palestinians in the Olympics. The team includes three disabled Palestinian athletes.

"I do serious training with the determination to participate in the Olympic games and have made great progress," said Zaqoot, who sits on a wheelchair, training and sweating. "I'm going to the Olympics to raise the name of Palestine higher and achieve a big success."

He said he will race in throwing the disc and the javelin, adding that he has been practicing these games since he was a kid. Zaqoot won several local, Arab, African and international medals as he joined several regional and international Olympics.

"I joined the Olympics held in China in 2010 and I won a third rank in Asia Championship, where 53 Asian and African countries participated," Zaqoot said, adding that he had won 24 golden, silver and bronze medals, breaking new records on the Arab, Asian and International games.

Asked about the extent of cooperation with officials in Gaza and the West Bank, Zaqoot said "we really have difficulties in Gaza, mainly the lack of sports facilities and equipment, but we have good spirits and determination that always make us overcome these difficulties," said Zaqoot.

He called on the Palestinian sports officials in both Gaza and the West Bank "to pay more attention to the Palestinian athletes in general and the disabled athletes in particular.

Ali Nazli, chairman of the Union for Palestinian Disable Athletes said that the Palestinian team hasn't left Palestine yet, adding that right now, all the teams are training behind closed doors and when they leave for London, there will also be special places for them to train.

"There are difficulties in training for the disabled athletes, but with their determination, they can surmount their physical disabilities and achieve their dreams," said Nazli.

He also said that the Palestinian National Team of Disabled Athletes "are determined through their hard training because they are seeking a big success in the Olympics and trying to prove to the world that despite the ongoing Israeli siege, the Palestinian can realize their dreams.

Meanwhile, in the village of Asira Shamaleya near Nablus in the West Bank, Sawalha, another Palestinian athlete goes at the sunrise for her intensive training, hoping that she would be a winner in the upcoming Olympics.

Sawalha, a young Palestinian girl, has been practicing running since she was 13, when she first participated in school races. She competes in both the short and long running, and has won first meddles in a competition of the West Bank schools and the Palestine Championship. She is one of the ten athletes of the Palestinian national team.

"Joining the world's Olympics has been always a dream for me and it seems that this dream has come true when I was selected. Representing Palestine and joining the Olympics is a great thing for me," she told Xinhua.

Saher Jouda, Sawalha's private coach, told Xinhua that "she goes on intensive daily training in order to be able to make bigger success in the coming Olympics."

The London Olympics will be held from July 27 to August 12. The British capital will be the first city that has hosted three Olympic games, the previous two of which were held in 1908 and in 1948.