UNITED KINGDOM: LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS: ATHLETICS: Marathon runner Guor Marial to compete under IOC flag

Record ID: 190360

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS: ATHLETICS: Marathon runner Guor Marial to compete under IOC flag
  • Date: 10th August 2012
  • Summary: LONDON, UK (AUGUST 10, 2012) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE WITH NON-AFFILIATED MARATHON RUNNER GUOR MARIAL BEGINS FLAGS REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARATHON RUNNER GUOR MARIAL SAYING: "Being under the Olympic flag is a great feeling it is something, a lot of people don't get that opportunity, so I feel fortunate, representing the five rings is the best thing, so I am representing the whole world basically, I can say that. Thank you." NEWS CONFERENCE CONTINUES (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARATHON RUNNER GUOR MARIAL SAYING: "The last time I saw my family was 1993. So mathematically, it is almost 20 years. Or 20 years I would say. In terms of whether they would watch me on TV, yes they will be able to watch me on TV. There is a local city, I would say it is about 30 miles, 60km, 50 to 60 km from where they live. They will walk there. At the moment in South Sudan, it is the raining season so there is no vehicle, plus there is no official road where the vehicle can go to the village area, so they will be able to walk to the nearest city, and they will be able to watch me on the TV."
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2012 13:00
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  • Location: Usa, United Kingdom
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  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVACVDN2GBHAT4DFOF379BTUY0TE
  • Story Text: Guor Marial will run under the Olympic flag when the starting pistol sounds for the men's marathon on Sunday (August 12) - but says he will actually be representing the entire world.
    Marial, 28, moved to the United States 12 years ago after fleeing violence in the south of Sudan.
    The region declared independence as South Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war and as it failed to establish a National Olympic Committee in time, it could not send a team to the London Games.
    The long-distance runner does not hold U.S. citizenship and refused an offer to represent Sudan, but just before the games started, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Marial could line up for the marathon as an independent participant.

    "Being under the Olympic flag is a great feeling, it is something. A lot of people don't get that opportunity, so I feel fortunate, representing the five rings is the best thing, so I am representing the whole world basically, I can say that," Marial told reporters at a news conference on Friday (August 10). "Thank you."
    Marial's family are still in South Sudan, and he said that he was hoping they would be able to watch the race on television.

    "The last time I saw my family was 1993," he said. "There is a local city, I would say it is about 30 miles, 60km, 50 to 60 km from where they live. They will walk there. At the moment in South Sudan it is the raining season so there is no vehicle, plus there is no official road where the vehicle can go to the village area, so they will be able to walk to the nearest city, and they will be able to watch me on the TV."
    Marial ran faster than the Olympic qualification time last October and improved his personal best in San Diego, California in June, finishing in two hours, 12 minutes and 55 seconds.
    His times suggest he will not just be making up the numbers but while the likelihood of winning a medal remains a distant dream, Marial is delighted to have been given an opportunity to put his country on the global stage.
    And he is enjoying the experience of being in the Athletes' Village, where he has been able to mix with some of the biggest stars of the games.

    "It is a good feeling, to be able to see people you are used to watching on TV," he said. "All of a sudden you are waking up and you are seeing Usain Bolt walking, cocky, and (David) Rudisha pretty much, it is just amazing. I took a couple of photos of some of them and it is incredible to see that. It gives me such motivation. It gives me a lot of confidence to work hard and to say if I can work out this day and see this person today, what happens if I work hard and next time I would be able to race and finish together with this person. It is a great feeling."
    The IOC has, at previous Olympics, had athletes running under its flag rather than a National Olympic Committee, but communications director Mark Adams described Marial's case as "unique".

    "I am sitting here, as we say in this country, gobsmacked because it becomes more of a story the more I hear, the more amazed I am and the more respect I have for Guor," said Adams.

    "For us it is an incredible story we wanted to try to help out in this but it is a unique case. We do have athletes in the past who have marched under the Olympic flag but I think these particular circumstances are so unique that it is quite humbling actually to be here and hear the story from our side."
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