Picture by 2022 Getty Images
Jamal Abdelmaji knows all about going the distance.
In life and on the athletics track, the 30-year-old is aware of what it takes to pick his moments.
That is exactly what he did when he made the decision to flee his war-torn homeland in search of a place to start anew.
The IOC Refugee Team member will be attending his second Games at Paris 2024, but the feeling of being an Olympian will never cease to touch him.
As he prepares to represent more than a 100 million of displaced people around the world, Jamal opened up to Olympics.com exclusive on his story, one that took him from the midst of war to Tel Aviv where his 'life began'.
“This is a journey you never forget,” he told us.
“When you’re 16 and you go through rough times… you never forget that – [no matter] what isn't coming in your life.
"16 years old, coming to the country, you don't know the language and you don't know anyone there - I went through a lot."
But despite the hardships, he never gave up – that resilience has led him to a life in sport.
To put into perspective just how much this means to him, the long-distance specialist struggled to sleep in the days leading up to the announcement of the refugee team for Paris.
“When it came to the selection, I was going through some bad moments,” he revealed.
“I was so afraid and everything I wasn’t able to sleep! [But] I don’t want to put any pressure on myself, because we never know what’s going to be.
“My goal is to qualify for the final, and if not, to at least have another personal best.”
Jamal took a big risk when he made the decision to leave his homeland, leaving his family behind.
Despite the struggles he endured settling into his new life in Tel Aviv, nothing compared to not knowing how his mother and siblings were doing, sometimes across weeks and months.
“When every day before you go to sleep or, for example, when you go out for dinner and then you remember that you [left] behind your mom, your siblings and the war, and you don’t know what they’re going through,” he said.
“Sometimes even the internet can be cut off for a couple of months and there is no way to contact them, that’s the saddest thing.
“I left my country because I wanted to have a good life, but some days I cannot contact them or talk to them [and] I don’t know what is going on with them, I just hear [things] in the news.”
More recently, however, one of his brothers was able to leave and rebuild his own life in Italy.
It has given the two of them a chance to reconnect and make up for lost time.
“[My brother] is so proud of me,” Jamal beamed.
“He is like ‘Brother, I don’t know what to say, you are the genius one, you did everything right and now you’re going to your second Olympics’.
“I said I did this for you, I told my mom I am going to do everything to make my siblings happy.”
When he began looking for his way into sports, Jamal was initially interested in football.
But a few conversations with those around him helped him realise that there was a limited route into it, at least not one that would allow him to perform on the international stage.
That’s where running came in.
“My first call was to go compete in the cross-country World Championships in Denmark,” Abdelmaji said.
“I went there and I was like oh man, this is a different life!”
It reaffirmed to Jamal that had made the right decision by not giving up on his dream of a better life – now he wants to spread that same message to others.
“If you give in, [it means] you gave up on your dream,” he added.
“There are always opportunities to achieve your dream, you have to believe in yourself and never give up.”
His love for the sport knows no bounds.
When the time comes for him to hang up his running shoes and take up a job, he is adamant that he will continue to be part of the sport.
“I don’t want to go out of this world [running],” he told us.
“This is one of the things that saved my life… changed my life. This [sport] has given me a lot, so I want to stay in it.”
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