Reporting by Ammar Johmani
Ahmad al-Jassem, a young Syrian athlete, won first place in his group at the 10 Kilometer marathon in the Stockholm Athletics Championships after a tough and difficult race with more than 3,000 contestants from different Swedish cities.
Al-Jassem won first place in his second group among seven groups, and he will have to compete again in two months, but if he succeeds then, he to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Games next year.
Al-Jassem, who has been in Sweden for one year and seven months, drew attention due to his outstanding sporting talent after running a marathon from Södertälje province, where he lives, to the Swedish Parliament building in Stockholm. Al-Jassem ran the 45 kilometers marathon in support of a sit-in opposing a law that would cancel temporary residence grants for new refugees in Sweden.
Al-Jassem was born in one of the al-Ashara area neighborhoods in the eastern suburb of Deir Ez Zor in 1989. While in high school, he moved with his family to Darya in Damascus suburbs to complete his studies there. Ahmad was involved in sports from an early age, especially running and endurance sports.
Al-Jassem joined some sports clubs in Damascus, but he did not have the opportunity to shine because the sons of officers and officials were always given the opportunity to compete at the expense of all the other club members. Speaking to Ammar Johmani, he explained that he and other athletes were marginalized in these clubs and this led him to continue his education rather than dedicate himself to sports.
But his desire to continue his education became impossible after the Islamic State entered Deir Ez Zor and he was forced to flee to Turkey. Al-Jassem remained in Turkey for around one year before he braved death and crossed the sea on a rubber boat to Greece. From there he continued to Germany, and made his way to Sweden. As soon as he felt settled, al-Jassem began training alone to recover his fitness after the period of inactivity he lived in Turkey. After a month of intensive training, he managed to outdo several well-accomplished Swedes.
Speaking to Ammar Johmani, he said his first participation was during a sit-in organized in Stockholm, Sweden before the parliament. This sit-in was organized in response to a decision by the Swedish authorities to stop granting refugees residencies, especially to those who came to Sweden before the law was announced and were waiting for their residence permits. Al-Jassem was one of those people, so the issue was very important to him. He explained that when he went to the sit-in, he noticed that there was no media covering the event as if there was an attempt to ignore the sit-in. He decided to attract attention to the issue and draw the attention of the media by running a 45 kilometers marathon from the Södertälje district to the Swedish Parliament Square alone. The move attracted the attention of Swedish media and the sit-in received the necessary coverage. He added that even members of the opposition parties who oppose this decision took part in the sit-in after that.
After his solo marathon, al-Jassem received offers from various Swedish clubs to join their running teams, including Swedenmermal and MM sport. He said that he refused their offers because these clubs require athletes to play only in their names in championships and competitions. He decided to continue his training alone, and ensure that he can lift any flag he wants without restrictions. Al-Jassem explained that he wants to communicate a message to the world about his people who are dying rather than lifting up a state’s flag or becoming an athlete for a famous club or institution.
Al-Jassem confirmed that he was certain he would win the marathon because he has a strong will and determination. He prepared well for the marathon although he was training alone. He explained that this involved running the same number of kilometers as the marathon in similar geographical and climatic conditions.
Al-Jassem hopes that his achievement will serve as an incentive for other Syrian youths to achieve their goals, especially in light of the frustrating news the Syrians are experiencing daily
