Against the odds

As a boy Guor Marial ran for his life in war-torn Sudan – now as a man he’ll be running for Marathon gold at this summer’s Olympic Games.

He will be competing under the Olympic flag as he has no passport and is a citizen of no country with an Olympic body yet.

He fled his troubled homeland, now the newly independent South Sudan, and arrived in the United States as a 14-year-old refugee.

He has been there ever since.

Marial said: “It is very emotional and it raises high hopes for the young kids especially. It means a lot and it means a lot to honour the people who died for their freedom and people who lost their lives, including 28 members of my family.”

Surprisingly Marial posted the Olympic qualifying time in his first ever marathon last year. Previously he was a cross-country star at Iowa State University.

Now he’ll be running against the World’s best long distance runners in the Olympic marathon that takes place on the final day of the Games on Aug. 12.

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