Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Swimmer's Daily
    • Home
    • Blog
    • Timeline
    • Tags
    • Sitemap
    • About
    • Contact
    Facebook Twitter YouTube Tumblr
    Swimmer's Daily
    Home»Competition»In Olympic refugee team, a last chance for Syrian swimmer Rami Anis
    Competition

    In Olympic refugee team, a last chance for Syrian swimmer Rami Anis

    rokurBy rokurJune 18, 2016No Comments2 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Rami Anis braved the bombs of Aleppo, then was forced to leave his Syrian home for Turkey five years ago — all the while refusing to give up on an elusive dream of swimming in the Olympics.

    He trained at the prestigious Galatasaray sports club in Istanbul, putting in lap after lap after lap, month after month. But soon, frustration set in because he was a refugee. That short window when a good athlete can truly become elite was closing fast. And he knew it.

    “I could not swim for the club. I was just training without taking part. All the while, the war was lasting longer. And I was losing my best years as an athlete,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

    So last year, at age 24 already, he took a different dive into the water, and crossed on a rubber boat from Turkey into Greece — a stretch of Aegean Sea that has become the tomb of all too many refugees — before setting off a 2,000-mile (3,000 kilometers) trek through the Balkans and onwards to Germany and eventually Belgium.

    Now, as part of the first official refugee team at the Games, Anis will be going to Rio — having lost some of his edge and many illusions along the way. Still, he clings to one.

    “I wish from my heart that there will be no more refugees and we can go back and participate for our country,” Anis said.

    Read NBC Olympics

    Rami Anis Rio 2016
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    rokur
    • Website

    Production engineer and certified swim coach. Full-time IT consultant, spare-time swimming aficionado. 2 sons, 2 daughters and a wife. President of the Faroe Islands Aquatics Federation. Likes to run :-)

    Related Posts

    Cal Fires Swim Coach McKeever Over Misconduct Allegations | KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco

    February 2, 2023

    Content Creator and Elite Swimmer: There Are Not Enough Hours in the Day | P3 x DRTV

    February 1, 2023

    Transwomen ‘Dangerous’ for Female Sport, Says Former Olympic Swimmer | GBNews

    January 30, 2023

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Sponsor
    Top Posts
    • Jennifer Lawrence to star as Audrey Mestre in true freediving drama 'The Dive'
      Jennifer Lawrence to star as Audrey Mestre in true freediving drama 'The Dive'
    • Underwater Record Gets Examined On 'Outrageous Acts Of Science'
      Underwater Record Gets Examined On 'Outrageous Acts Of Science'
    • History Of Swimming (Infographic)
      History Of Swimming (Infographic)
    • Artistic Swimmer Walks Upside Down in Heels
      Artistic Swimmer Walks Upside Down in Heels
    • Story Of Encounter With The Candiru "The Fish That Can Swim Up Inside The Penis"
      Story Of Encounter With The Candiru "The Fish That Can Swim Up Inside The Penis"
    • Cal Fires Swim Coach McKeever Over Misconduct Allegations | KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
      Cal Fires Swim Coach McKeever Over Misconduct Allegations | KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
    • Two Tips to Improve Your Backstroke Kick! | Swim Technique | Backstroke | SwimVice
      Two Tips to Improve Your Backstroke Kick! | Swim Technique | Backstroke | SwimVice
    • The Brain-Eating Amoebas of Kerosene Creek
      The Brain-Eating Amoebas of Kerosene Creek
    • Until Fairly Recently, The YMCA Actually Required Swimmers To Be Nude
      Until Fairly Recently, The YMCA Actually Required Swimmers To Be Nude
    • Content Creator and Elite Swimmer: There Are Not Enough Hours in the Day | P3 x DRTV
      Content Creator and Elite Swimmer: There Are Not Enough Hours in the Day | P3 x DRTV
    Countdown to Fukuoka 2023July 14, 2023
    5 months to go.
    Categories
    Buffer Overflow
    Tweets by swimmersdaily
    • RSS - Posts
    • RSS - Comments
    Search

     Subscribe in a reader

     Subscribe to comments

    Contact Info & Hours
    Swimmer's Daily
    c/o Rókur í Jákupsstovu
    Brekkuvegur 10
    FO-650 Toftir
    Faroe Islands
    Mobile +298 219754
    [email protected]
    09:00-21:00 UTC/GMT
    Subscribe to Blog via Email

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 169 other subscribers
    Meta
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
    Facebook Twitter YouTube Tumblr
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.