(20 Aug 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Reims, France – 19 August 2024
1. Various of Ibrahim Al Hussein, a Syrian athlete competing in the para-triathlon and member of the refugee delegation
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ibrahim Al Hussein, Syrian athlete and member of refugee delegation:
++RESPONDING TO QUESTION ON WHETHER OR NOT HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF A SYMBOL TO REFUGEES AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES++
"I don’t consider myself an example. I’ve come here to prove to them that anyone is able to achieve their goal. Its not about me being their leader or something. On the contrary, my goal is not just about the refugees, it can be for anyone. Despite all the challenges I have faced in my life, despite the fact that I left Syria on a wheelchair, despite the fact that I rebuilt my life from below zero – this is a message of hope to the whole world and a message of hope to everyone around the world, to anyone who is miserable, to anyone who does not have the spirit of perseverance – that is how I would describe it. And that is my message."
3. Various of athlete and member of refugee delegation Guillaume Junior Atangana (sunglasses)
4. Refugee team posing for photo
5. SOUNDBITE (French) Guillaume Junior Atangana, member of refugee delegation:
"Always believe in yourself, don’t feel sorry for yourself, there’s a lot you can do. I’m blind, I run, I compete at a high level. I’ve been able to put in some great performances that some able-bodied people can’t manage. I’m very happy about that. My message to everyone with this disability is to believe in yourself, to dare. And the best is yet to come."
6. Refugees’ Paralympic team jersey
7. Wheelchair fencing athlete Amelio Castro Grueso (right)
8. Refugee team
STORYLINE:
Athletes on the Refugee Paralympic Team are looking to send a message of hope as they strive for the podium at the 2024 Paralympic Games that begin in Paris next week.
Eight Paralympians and one runner guide who fled conflict and persecution in their homelands are hoping to earn medals in six sports: para-athletics, para-powerlifting, para-table tennis, para-taekwondo, para-triathlon, and wheelchair fencing.
Among them is Ibrahim Al Hussein, a Syrian athlete who will be competing in para-triathlon.
Al Hussein lost his right foot and parts of his left foot in 2012 during the civil war that ravaged his country and forced him to flee to Greece.
"This is a message of hope to the whole world and a message of hope to everyone around the world, to anyone who is miserable, to anyone who does not have the spirit of perseverance," l Hussein told the Associated Press from the team’s training camp in Reims.
Like many on his team, he wants to prove that anything is possible, despite the challenges that come with being both disabled and being uprooted from your home.
Living in crowded refugee camps for years with little or no access to training centers, Al Hussein and others overcame many obstacles to reach top sporting competitions.
Guillaume Junior Atangana thought that his dreams of becoming a professional athlete playing soccer had been dashed when he lost his eyesight.
But instead of ending his sporting career, he discovered that running with the help of a guide could take him even further.
“I’ve been able to put in some great performances that some able-bodied people can’t manage,” he told AP.
After finishing fourth at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, Atangana hopes this to snatch a medal this time.
AP video shot by Patrick Hermansen
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