MOGADISHU — The Somali Olympic Committee (SOC) and selectors have announced the two athletes that will compete for Somalia at the London Olympics on Saturday.
According to the Committee countries that do not qualify for any events are eligible to present two athletes in the games under the Olympic Games rules.
The selection panel hosted a fierce competition between two girls in one heat and two boys in another. The selectors like most Somali athletes were convinced the two runners – Samsam Mohamed Farah and Mohamed Hassan Mohamed will give their all for Somalia and in the road to London.
The Committee said their selection was ratified by the Somali Olympic Committee last week was “unanimous”. Their coach, Ahmed Ali Abukar, said the selection was not only based on performance, the race, but also experience. He said they were the right athletes to carry the nation’s flag.
“These athletes through sheer grit, courage, mental toughness and hard work have earned the right to wave our Nation’s flag,” he said according to media in Mogadishu.
The coach will be joined by the former Somali coach of the national basketball team Mr. Omar Abdulqadir Barajab.
Somali athletes often risked their own lives to train under harsh al Shabaab rule and sending this time to London will be a symbolic victory of the al Qaeda group. It will as well motivate the battered nation and its long-suffering population.
Olympic hopeful Mohamed on the treadmill in Mogadishu
Somali athletes still lack the resources needed to compete with their competitors. Diet, equipment and facilities remain the biggest problems even after al Shabaab were ousted last year. They eat bread, camel meat, fruit and eggs for breakfast, while lunch usually consists of spaghetti or rice with meat and camel milk. Due to lack of energy drinks, most of them use just basic mango juice.
They will face fierce competition from neighbouring heavyweights Kenya and Ethiopia as well as other leading countries in the marathon category.
Thanks to this wildcard place, Mr. Mohamed, 19, hopes to run in the 1,500m and 5,000m, who is described as a young ambitious and driven athlete.
He hopes to dedicate this rare opportunity to the former SOC chairman, Aden Yabarow Wiish, who was killed in April when a bomb exploded in the national theatre.
Somalilandpress
July 7, 2012
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– Editors note
We wish the two young athletes success and remind them to keep their dream alive which will inspire future Somali generations.
Our people should always welcome positive development for all Somali people regardless of which country.
Somali waa kuma? – Enjoy the song below.
as Kayse says
" Somaliiiiii wa kumaaaaaaa? ....Somali....Somali baan ahay....we are partying from Ras Kabon to Zeilac....Somalis have never being this united since 1960.
Remember its not how many you send nor is it about how many metals you win. Our country has abundance of deposits of all kinds of metals and resources.
These two are reflection of our selves, our struggle, our disunity and our search for that five-point Somali star thats embeded in every Somali heart.
We just need to learn to trust our hearts and for a while defeat our big egos.
“Give up all bad qualities in you, banish the ego and develop the spirit of surrender. You will then experience Bliss.”
Somali people don't hate each others. Our egos hate each others and often those egos have tribal tags that we don't even realize we are carrying. Ego is the enemy, my Somali people declare war on your ego that tells you: "If your X tribe your better than Y"
“Ego: The fallacy whereby a goose thinks he's a swan”
Where we Somalis think our tribes are sacred divines and scholars of the universe.
No Somali hates Somali. Somali wa kuma? Its not ego, I will tell you that.
Congratulations Somali Olympic Committee and you have been through tough times but they coming to an end, I can assure you that. These two kids have made us proud. "
ALL SOMALIS IN THE UK SHOULD GO OUT AND SUPPORT THE TWO SOMALI HEROS IN THE SUMMER OF 2012 IN LONDON!
http://somalilandpress.com/somali-olymp ... ndon-31905
