By Kuol Mayiir and Andrew Gai, Australia
August 8, 2016 (SSB) — As over 200 countries converge on Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics Games, there is one country that has never been there before and that country is the Republic of South Sudan. The historic appearance of South Sudan in the world’s most populous and biggest event came after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) accepted it as its 206th member nation in August 2015 in Kuala Lumpur.
Many South Sudanese around the world who were fortunate to see their country’s flag passing through the magnificent Maracanã Stadium during the opening ceremony, would have been filled with mix emotions; considering how far their country has come and the resilience of their athletes.
Participating in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio give South Sudanese something to celebrate under one banner (the flag) since December 2013 when the country went back to war against itself. One would hope that South Sudanese stop in-fighting for a moment and observe this historic occasion.
No one is full of joy than the athletes themselves who never imagine that they would one day become part of such historic moment; both for themselves and most importantly for their young country which they are representing. It is fair to say that being an Olympian was never part of the childhood dreams for these South Sudanese Athletes since many of them were born in war, having known nothing about World Olympic Games.
The first ever South Sudanese athletes to the Olympic Games are inspirational individuals. They include:
- A 16-year-old 1500-meter runner Santino Kenyi who continued training in the capital Juba while his countrymen were busy fighting.
- Guor Mading Maker, who ran in the marathon under the Olympic Flag at the 2012 London Olympic Games and finished 47th. At that time South Sudan was not yet recognised by the IOC but Guor’s participation in the London games lifted South Sudan’s image on the international stage.
- A 19-year-old 200-meter runner Margret Rumat Rumar Hassan who is being sponsored by Samsung with an ad that has painted exactly how her fellow citizens, young and old, will get behind her from afar.
- And finally Tong Deran, the South Sudanese Olympic Committee Secretary General and his team, who have worked very hard over the years to get South Sudan registered with the IOC.
These athletes worked very hard in an environment with inadequate sporting equipment and facilities as well as having very limited or lack of funding and sponsorship.
Despite the great challenges that South Sudan is facing at the moment, the future of this young country in Olympic Games looks promising, particularly in running, basketball, and soccer. South Sudan is no doubt a force to be reckoned with in sport in the future. However, this optimism will largely depend on the country’s ability to restore peace and invest in its people.
While the most important thing in the Olympic Games are participation and representation of your country regardless of the results, these athletes have inspired many war affected South Sudanese from all generations.
At this critical times for South Sudan, may the spirit of sport unites the hearts of the young country’s citizens?
The authors, Kuol Mayiir and Andrew Gai, are South Sudanese-Australians from Victoria, Australia.
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