The long jumper who now has a running start on Paris 2024
As a young pupil at a school in Syria, Mohammad was spotted by a sports teacher, who suggested he take part in the Aleppo schools’ championships. He finished first in the triple jump and second in the long jump. Two months later, he won the national schools championship in Syria in both categories. This is how Mohammad’s love of sport was born.
A few years later, he fled with some of his family members to Türkiye. Not being able to practice his sport, he decided to return to Syria. Despite the war, he trained, graduated, and started studying to become a sports teacher. While living and training in Damascus, he participated in the Asian Championships, where he finished second. On his return, the war was still raging, and he had no choice but to leave. He now lives in Berlin and is training for his dream: the World Championships and the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
“This means a lot to me,” he said. “As an athlete, my dream was to win a medal at the Olympics, and that was very difficult to achieve alone, without help in a foreign country. I had to work 200 hours a month to earn money to train and go to training camps and competitions and pay for everything myself. But now training has become easier because I know that there is the IOC to support me.”
This story was originally published in the Olympic Refuge Foundation Annual Activity Report 2022.