(11 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY: AP AND SNTV CLIENTS MAY USE
ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP AND SNTV CLIENTS MAY USE
Berlin – 29 May 2024
1. Wide of athlete Mohammad Amin Alsalami running, jumping
2. Alsalami walking on track
3. SOUNDBITE (German) Mohammad Amin Alsalami, Syrian, Refugee Olympic Team, Athletics:
"My name is Mohammad Amin Alsalami. I am 29 years old. I come from Aleppo, Syria. I have been in Berlin, Germany since October 2015."
4. Various of Alsalami jumping
5. SOUNDBITE (German) Mohammad Amin Alsalami, Syrian, Refugee Olympic Team, Athletics:
"Sport, for me, has really been my life, especially here in Germany. I am all alone. Life in Germany is not easy. It’s really not easy. But when I’m in training, especially when I perform well, this joy, it’s such a great feeling. It’s really cool."
6. Various of Alsalami running and jumping
7. Close of Alsalami
8. Wide of Alsalami sitting alone
9. SOUNDBITE (German) Mohammad Amin Alsalami, Syrian, Refugee Olympic Team, Athletics:
"Germany and the Refugee team have given me a lot of support to get there, that’s not an issue. But when we say for which country or for whom I will compete, of course I would like to compete for Syria."
10. Various of Alsalami training
11. SOUNDBITE (German) Mohammad Amin Alsalami, Syrian, Refugee Olympic Team, Athletics:
"I’ve been fighting with myself really hard to improve my performance for the Olympics. And I really, really want to at least make it to the final at the Olympics. So that I can also show, a bit, that we refugees are not just there as refugees. I also want to show that we are there because we are competitive athletes and not just refugees."
12. Wide of Alsalami jumping
STORYLINE:
When Mohammad Amin Alsalami arrived in Berlin in October 2015, he was cold, lonely and homesick.
The Syrian refugee had left behind his war-torn hometown of Aleppo, fled to Turkey, crossed the Mediterranean on a rubber boat to Greece, and trekked by foot to Germany.
Like millions of other migrants, he was in search of a place where he could build a future without bombs and violence.
Almost a decade later, Alsalami, now 29, has been granted asylum, learned German and made new friends. And he’s living his dream of becoming a world-class athlete.
He learned just months ago that he got the green light to participate in the Paris Games.
Alsalami discovered his passion for athletics during physical education in school at age 15. A teacher noticed his talent for long jump and pushed him to participate in local and national competitions in Syria.
But when civil war erupted, he could no longer practice. His family — he’s the youngest of nine siblings — was displaced several times within Syria, then fled to Turkey. Alsalami decided to continue to Europe on his own.
He credits his passion for athletics with getting him through the initial hardships in his new country.
During the first weeks in Berlin, he looked up different stadiums and gyms on Google Maps so he could start practicing long jump again.
He remembers walking through the first snow to finally discover one of the city’s big indoor gymnasiums.
Despite his excitement for the Games, Alsalami admits he’s a bit sad that he can’t represent his home country.
Still, he is training hard to reach the finals. He hopes the world will see that members of the Refugee Olympic Team like him are professional athletes, not just refugees.
AP video shot by Pietro De Cristofaro
Production by Renata Brito
===========================================================
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/40d2df86748044ec946d36ae58b87ba5
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in July 16, 2024, 6:04 am.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
