Nader al Masri, born in 1980, is the only Palestinian athlete from Beit Hanoun in the Gaza strip, to contest in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. He comes from the Beit Hanoun refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, a frequent fire zone in battles between Hamas and Israeli troops. After a long standing battle with the Israeli government, Nader al Masri obtained permission to leave Gaza to train for the event. His 10 year rigorous practice paid off when Israeli activists came to his rescue, paving way for his training at the West Bank town of Jericho.
Although Gaza has never been a peaceful strip of land, the continual clashes did not interrupt or distract Nader al Masri. With a desire to turn the world’s attention to the cause of Palestinians, Nader al Masri feels that his 5000 m run would be the first step towards his goal. Contrary to the state-of-the-art facilities that are offered to athletes globally, Nader al Masri trained in the streets of war ridden Gaza. He ran 14km a day from Beit Hanoun to the Yarmouk stadium, with an enthralling bunch of neighbors who cheered him on.
An employee with the Palestinian Authority, Nader al Masri took up running as a hobby and went on to realize that running was his dream. With a time of 14 minutes 24 seconds, a minute slower than the qualifying pace, Nader al Masri couldn’t win a ticket to the main event. He is looking forward to return to Gaza and celebrate not just his journey to Beijing, but also the birth of his daughter, Raghed.
