Aker AL OBAIDI

Aker is an Iraqi refugee who grew up in Mosul with a wrestling trainer for a father who ran his own club. He fled Mosul when ISIS began recruiting young men in the city and escaped to Iraqi Kurdistan, where he had to leave his family behind and travel onwards. At age 17, after being granted subsidiary protection in 2016, he competed alongside the Austrian juniors at an international event in Riga and secured a gold in Juniors at the event. Now he trains seven times a week at the local wrestling club, Ringer Sport Club Inzing, and helps train local children. The head of the club assisted Aker with finding accommodation in the small mountain town. He most recently won bronze at the U20 European Sporting Championships 2019 in Spain. Most recently he claimed two silver medals at the 2021 Sasari Italien Open.

Aker competed as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 and finished in 8th place, earning an Olympic diploma