A runner who once fled ethnic violence in Darfur lands on the refugee Olympic team
Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed will compete in Friday's 10,000-meter race.
TEL AVIV — In the days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Olympic runner Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed struggled as conflict engulfed the country where he sought refuge from war.
As a teenager, Abdelmaji risked his life to flee ethnic violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Now, as a 30-year-old, he will compete in the 10,000-meter race, representing the International Olympic Committee’s refugee team for the second time in his career.
“I was really depressed, because it reminded me of every moment of Darfur and every second of Darfur I’ve been through,” he said of the attack on Israel. “I wasn’t going out. I wasn’t really training.”
Abdelmaji traveled through the Sinai Desert in 2010 to reach Israel and made a home here, living with a host family, studying and training to become a world-class runner.
His Israeli host mother, Hili Avinoam, said Abdelmaji took the attack especially hard as rocket sirens blared and the family ran for shelter.
Rating: 5