‘A political statement to be there’: Palestinian swimmer to take a stand at Olympics

Palestinian swimmer Yazan Al-Bawwab was so distressed he felt as if he was about to vomit.

“I was literally swimming the World Cup,” Al-Bawwab said. “I just didn’t want to swim any more. It was just like I wanted to puke.”

It was October 7, 2023, and Hamas had just launched a barrage of rockets into southern Israel, killing some 1200 people and taking another 250 Jews hostage to the Gaza Strip, a narrow stretch of Palestinian territory on the Mediterranean coast.

News of the attack came as the 24-year-old was preparing to take his mark at swimming’s World Cup in Berlin, the prospect of competing at Paris 2024 at his fingertips.

But as he stood on the starting block, Al-Bawwab’s mind was racing. Was his family safe? Was his home still standing? What did this mean for his loved ones in the West Bank? What about his extended family and colleagues in Gaza?

“I was scared for my family and my people … knowing that something big is coming,” Al-Bawwab said. “I was just overall lost, hopeless, scared.”

Palestinian children at a camp set up in Al-Durra Stadium in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Israel was swift to retaliate to the attack that day, launching a brutal counter-offensive in Gaza that Hamas officials say killed more than 36,000 Palestinians and displaced almost two million people.

As Israel continues to conduct operations in southern parts of the stretch of land, where forces have been battling Hamas, the conflict casts a long shadow over athletes representing Palestine at the Paris Olympics.

“Paris, right now, is the most important Olympics Palestine has ever had,” said Al-Bawwab, who is part of the small cohort of athletes shortlisted to compete at the Games under the Palestinian flag in July and August.

“It’s a political statement to be there. It’s to say, ‘hey, we’re also human beings. And we also have a country, give or take’.

Palestinians gather at the badly damaged Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza to access the internet.

“For somebody to compete against me means that they’re OK with Palestine being here. Well, they might not be OK with it, but they have no choice.”

Like Al-Bawwab, Palestinian dressage rider Diana Al Shaer feels the weight of her country’s plight on her shoulders.

“The Olympics are challenging for everyone, it doesn’t matter what nationality you are. But I think for us, it’s a certain level of responsibility that we have now,” said Al Shaer, the daughter and granddaughter of Palestinian diplomats.

“It’s important for athletes to remember that besides being athletes, they are ambassadors of the country. We should not forget about this important tool of public diplomacy that is actually for building bridges.”

Stadiums become refugee camps

Israel’s military campaign altered the fabric of Palestinian sport and financially hamstrung its Olympic committee months out from the Games.

More than 300 Palestinian athletes, coaches, referees, and sports officials, many of them from Gaza’s bustling soccer scene, have been killed since October 7, according to the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

Among the dead are friends and acquaintances of Al-Bawwab, who lives and trains in Dubai but has extended family in the West Bank and Gaza.

Some were also known to long-distance runner and sporting pioneer Majed Abu Maraheel, the first Palestinian to compete in the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996. He died of kidney failure earlier this month after being unable to access medical treatment in Gaza.

Before the conflict reignited last year, Palestinian athletes like Al-Bawwab and fellow swimmer Valerie Tarazi were making history on the world stage, winning gold at competitions in Asia and preparing to compete in Paris.

Al-Bawwab – who has a personal best of 51.44 seconds in the 100m freestyle – is an International Olympic Committee youth leader and International University Sports Federation ambassador.

But he said money for sport was now scarce and competitions had become difficult to organise.

Palestine’s national soccer team had vocal support in Perth when they played a World Cup qualifier against the Socceroos last month.

Most sporting infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed, he said, while the remaining stadiums are being used as makeshift camps for displaced Palestinians.

“We were not just participating any more. We were actually doing something (winning events) that for Palestine never happened in history. And then this thing happens. We go back down,” he said.

Finding the funding and support to pursue a professional career in sport has always been a challenge for Palestinian athletes, who often have to move overseas to train and fundraise to compete.

Al Shaer said the war had all but shattered the sporting dreams of those based in Palestine, and rattled the country’s athlete community aboard.

Palestinian families who fled the Israeli bombardment or whose houses were destroyed take shelter in destroyed or heavily damaged stadiums in Deir al-Balah.

“To be focused, you need safety, you need the feeling that you know what’s happening tomorrow. Sports is all about planning, and strategy. But it’s very difficult to do this when your life is absolutely unpredictable,” she said.

“It’s a very difficult time for all of us because you can’t detach yourself. You still see the news.

“It’s very challenging mentally to concentrate, to focus because we have family, and friends who are there.”

In April, the International Olympic Committee announced between six and eight Palestinian athletes would be competing at the Paris Games, with some invited by the committee if they failed to qualify.

While the full list is yet to be released, the Palestinian Olympic Committee expects three Gazan athletes to be among those selected. Those confirmed so far include taekwondo player Omar Ismail, boxer Wasim Abusal, shooter Jorege Salhe and judoka Faris Badawi.

“It’s a historic and a great moment to go there and to tell the world that it’s the time to say stop,” committee president Jibril Rajoub told the media during a press conference in Ramallah earlier this month. “Enough is enough.”

Under current International Olympic Committee guidelines, athletes can protest and express strongly held views during media conferences and interviews, on social media, in mixed zones, and at most venues. However, they are barred from protesting on the field and medal podium, which are considered “sacred spaces”.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.

Key points

Palestine will be represented by a small but committed team of athletes at Paris 2024.

The embattled nation has been competing at the Olympics since 1996.

But the current conflict in Gaza casts a dark cloud over their efforts.

It has claimed the lives of some of the country’s best athletes and also prevented others from preparing for the Games.

But those competing say their presence at the Games will make the world pay more attention to the conflict and send an important message about their country’s place in the world.