Rami Anis (born March 18, 1991)[2] is a Syrian swimmer, who now resides in Belgium, and representing a small Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) under the Olympic flag, at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[3] As war took hold of his home town Aleppo, Anis fled to Turkey then, by dinghy to Greece and on to Belgium.[4]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 18, 1991[1] Aleppo, Syria |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 78 kg (172 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Refugee Olympic Team |
| Sport | Swimming |
His uncle Majad, who was a Syrian representative swimmer, inspired him to become a swimmer.[citation needed]
Biography
editAs bombings and kidnappings in Aleppo became more frequent in 2011, Anis had to leave the city. His family sent him to stay with his older brother in Istanbul, Turkey. In Istanbul he trained at Galatasaray Sports Club. In search of a chance to prove himself, Anis left Turkey aboard an inflatable dinghy and made his way across to the Greek island of Samos. Eventually he reached Belgium where he was granted asylum in December 2015. Today he trains at the Royal Ghent Swimming Club and is coached by Carine Verbauwen.
References
edit- ^ "Refugee Olympic Team" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ "Rami Anis". rio2016.com. International Olympouc Committee. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ Fahey, Ciaran (18 March 2016). "Swimmer Yusra Mardini hopes to compete at Rio Games for refugee squad in hopes of inspiring other Syrians". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ "Olympic refugee team: Rami Anis's journey from Aleppo to the Rio 2016 Games". Archived from the original on 2016-08-01.