The Gaza Man: A Palestinian’s quest to make it to the Paris Olympics | Paris Olympics 2024

Earlier than each weightlifting competitors, Mohammed Hamada thinks of Gaza.

He thinks of the destruction of his dwelling and folks, or of the mass grave he dug for residents of the constructing subsequent to his.

These circumstances have created a particular type of athlete. One who needed to eat animal meals to outlive, dropping 18kg within the course of. And one who finally needed to depart Gaza and his household, so he might try to compete within the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games.

“We got here out of Gaza to not escape demise,” the 22-year-old Palestinian weightlifter stated.

“We left Gaza to finish our proper to defend Palestine.”

Profession on the rise

Mohammed comes from a household of weightlifters.

His nieces and nephews all take part within the sport and his older brother, Hussam, has skilled him for years as Palestine’s nationwide weightlifting coach.

At simply 18, Mohammed made historical past as the primary Palestinian Olympic weightlifter on the Tokyo 2020 Video games.

He then gained gold on the 2022 Worldwide Weightlifting Federation Junior World Championships in Greece.

Mohammed’s profession was taking off, however Israel’s warfare on Gaza, starting on October 7 after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, jolted him straight again right down to earth.

The main target for Palestinians in Gaza turned survival, as Israel relentlessly bombed the enclave, killing virtually 40,000 individuals.

And but, amid all of it, Mohammed remained dedicated to creating it to the Olympics.

His first hurdle: escaping Gaza.

The ‘passage of demise’

At the same time as rockets and missiles rained down on their Gaza neighbourhood of Tuffah, Hussam continued to teach his brother.

Lifting weightlifting bars inside broken buildings, the pair did what they might.

“Assets usually are not what make a champion. It’s the circumstances that make a champion,” Mohammed remarked.

However even with their ongoing preparation, it wasn’t till early 2024 that the Hamadas made the choice to try to make it to the Olympics.

Their father recommended they attempt to depart Gaza, and Hussam and Mohammed set off for the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Strolling for 3 days, Hussam described the journey as a “passage of demise”.

“Leaving the home was like going to a funeral,” Hussam, who left behind a spouse and three boys aged 13, 11 and 6, stated.

“Tareq – he hugged me and he didn’t let go,” Hussam stated of his youngest son. “Jude and Khamis have been crying.”

Regardless of the load of Hussam’s choice to depart, he feels reassured understanding he has his household’s assist.

“I really feel dangerous and need I hadn’t left them however they consider in what we’re doing, within the Olympic dream, and in Mohammed,” Hussam stated.

“The Olympic journey isn’t just Mohammed’s dream however the dream of the entire household.”

For nearly a month, the Hamada brothers waited in Rafah for information that will deliver their dream one step nearer – approval from the Egyptian authorities to depart war-torn Gaza.

After 23 days of ready, the affirmation remarkably got here by.

In early April, with little greater than the garments on their backs, Mohammed and Hussam bid farewell to Gaza and flew to Thailand, to compete within the IWF World Cup, held on the island of Phuket.

It was the final qualifying occasion earlier than the 2024 Olympics.

Qualifying for the Video games

Even as soon as Mohammed was out of Gaza, qualifying for the Paris Olympics could be troublesome.

To get a wild card for the game of weightlifting, Mohammed was required to attend two qualifying occasions, together with the 2024 IWF World Cup in Thailand.

However Mohammed’s preparation, even with out the warfare in Gaza, was filled with complexities.

“As weightlifters, dietary dietary supplements are actually essential for constructing energy,” Mohammed stated.

“These usually are not out there in Gaza.”

So in 2022, when taking part at a coaching camp within the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bought an over-the-counter complement to protect his weight and energy.

“We later came upon that the dietary dietary supplements have been counterfeit and had been laced with banned components, though these components weren’t listed on the complement’s container,” he stated.

“[I] paid the value for one thing I didn’t [knowingly] commit,” he stated. “Ultimately, it was dominated as an ‘unintentional use’ of the substance.”

Mohammed acquired a short lived suspension.

The IWF World Cup in Thailand could be his first competitors in additional than two years.

And regardless of his reduction to be again on the worldwide sporting stage, the injuries of the warfare have been as seen as ever.

His extreme weight reduction was an obstacle in a sport that depends so closely on muscle and energy.

“We left Gaza simply 10 days in the past [and] I had little or no time to regain my energy,” Mohammed stated, between repetitions at a coaching health club.

Surrounded by women and men at peak bodily health, Mohammed recalled what he needed to eat to outlive.

“For nearly 164 days we ate meals that’s not appropriate for people … together with animal meals.”

On competitors day, Mohammed’s drawback was unmistakable.

He lifted 100kg within the snatch and 120kg within the clear and jerk. His private greatest is way greater – in 2021 he lifted 141kg within the snatch and 171kg within the clear and jerk.

However going into the competitors, Mohammed and Hussam knew he would by no means qualify on efficiency alone.

Reasonably, fleeing Gaza and making it to Thailand was about taking part within the remaining Olympic qualifier.

Regardless of solely making one qualifying occasion, Mohammed was backed by main sporting our bodies.

“We consider an exception can be made for Mohammed to be within the Olympics,” stated Nader Jayousi, technical director of the Palestine Olympic Committee.

Jayousi, who has recognized the Olympian for years, stated he believed in Mohammed’s distinctive expertise as an athlete.

“However when we now have such circumstances – famine, hunger, shedding pounds, demise … I don’t suppose that’s the place we apply strict eligibility standards,” he stated.

“He’s a consultant of an entire nation.”

An extended wait

After the World Cup occasion in Thailand, the Hamada brothers relocated to Doha, Qatar.

Supported by the Palestinian, Qatari and Worldwide Olympic committees, Mohammed started gaining weight and regaining his energy.

Amid the Hamadas’ strict coaching regime, Gaza remained entrance of thoughts.

Strikes continued of their neighbourhood of Tuffah, whereas information from their mother and father and Hussam’s kids trickled in.

Hussam’s sons would ship video updates standing in entrance of their razed neighbourhood.

“I need to reassure you that we’re okay after the shelling on the mosque,” 13-year-old Khamis could be heard saying in a single video.

“The reality is that the state of affairs is harder than I imagined,” Mohammed stated. “From the very first second I stepped outdoors of Gaza, I turned obsessive about the worry of dropping family members.

“After I was in the course of the occasions, the influence wasn’t as robust – however now I really feel a type of worry, anxiousness, and unhappiness,” he added.

The Hamadas sacrificed proximity to their household for Mohammed’s Olympic objective.

Nevertheless it wasn’t to be.

On June 6, the IWF revealed a listing of the athletes given wild playing cards to the Paris Video games.

Sitting throughout from each other of their Doha resort room, Hussam scanned the web site to study that Mohammed’s identify was lacking.

“All is nicely,” the coach quietly stated.

Sitting in silence for a number of minutes, Mohammed lastly added, “That is just the start for us”.

Whereas Mohammed gained’t compete on this week’s Olympic weightlifting competitors, he’s adamant this disappointment is simply one other impediment.

The brothers have since relocated to Bahrain and proceed to coach 5 days per week, with the following summer season Olympics in thoughts.

“​​We’ve got the Los Angeles Olympics 2028,” Mohammed stated. “We’ll come again stronger than earlier than.”