Rio 2016: Ahmed Gebrel, Men’s 200m freestyle swimmer

Representing Palestine for the second time, Gebrel was raised in Cairo and first represented his country at the 2012 Olympic Games held in London.  Facing the same difficulties as Mary al-Atrash, he prepared for London by training in Barcelona, as the lack of swimming facilities in Palestine was too great.

Speaking to China Central Television, Gebrel did not allow these limited resources to stand in the way of his dream of representing his country through sport saying:

with concentration I can say I am fully prepared for the Olympics and I hope my results will prove my words