Syrian refugee’s dream of carrying the Olympic torch to come true

[rooster59]

Syrian refugee’s dream of carrying the Olympic torch to come true



On Tuesday (April 26), Syrian refugee Ibrahim Al-Hussein will carry the Olympic flame in Athens as part of the torch relay ahead of the 2016 Rio games.

A swimmer, his friends and coaches say he has shown more strength and perseverance than most. Four years ago, Ibrahim lost part of his right leg in a bombing back in Syria.

“After 20 years, I’ve managed to make my dream come true. I always dreamed about this and I dreamed of competing in the Olympic Games. And today I am here and I reached higher than that. I have the honour of carrying the Olympic flame. It is the symbol of this competition and the honour of this competition,” he said.

Ibrahim crossed the Aegean Sea in a dinghy in 2014. Initially landing on the island of Samos, he later moved to Athens, where he now has a job and an intense sports schedule.

He says he is carrying the flame “for myself, but also for Syrians, for refugees everywhere, for Greece, for sports, for my swimming and basketball teams.

“My goal is to never give up. But to go on, to always go forward. And that I can achieve through sports.”

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-04-24

[Pimay1]

Admirable.

[Credo]

That's great. I thought that everyone who could run, jump or swim was already in Germany.

[ezzra]

An Arab that excels in swimming is rare indeed, as rare as an African wining a skiing championship

or even rarer, a Thai person with a common sense.....

[stillbornagain]

An Arab that excels in swimming is rare indeed, as rare as an African wining a skiing championship

or even rarer, a Thai person with a common sense.....

.. or you making an unbigoted comment.