海角大神

While most Paralympics national teams are on a strict training schedule as the Olympics companion event approaches,聽focused entirely on improving their performance and winning a coveted gold medal, the Palestinian Gaza team is a bit different.聽

In fact, the training regimen has been anything but focused for disabled Gazan athletes Muhammad Fanouna and Khamis Zaqout, who are competing in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.聽In a tale reminiscent of "Cool Runnings" 鈥� a movie inspired by the unlikely Jamaican bobsledding heroes of the 1988 Winter Olympics 鈥� Mr. Fanouna and Mr. Zaqout have overcome a lack of training, equipment, and finances in order to qualify for this year鈥檚 Paralympics.

The duo, who are competing for the Palestinian team, train in Gaza, isolated from their West Bank teammates. Partially-blind Fanouna, who won a bronze medal for his long jump in the Athens Paralympics eight years ago,聽is competing this year in the long jump, 200-meter sprint, and javelin throw.

Although every athlete aims for the gold medal, that might be an unrealistic goal for the team from Gaza, Fanouna says.

鈥淓very player hopes to get the gold in London. But without the facilities and training that other players have, I can鈥檛 realistically expect it. Bronze would still be a big achievement, given that we don鈥檛 have an Olympic training camp or even a track on which I can sprint.鈥�

Training resources

Nabil Hamdeya, a member of the Palestinian international disabled athletics team, started participating in disabled athletics more than a decade ago, before disabled sports were established in Gaza.

鈥淲hen I started discus throwing, we didn鈥檛 have a stadium. We used to play on derelict land and our resources were very basic 鈥� we didn鈥檛 even have two discuses to rub together. All we had was our skill, spirit, and a determination to continue.鈥�

Today, the team trains in Gaza on dedicated land and has access to basic and limited equipment. Even with improvements, the facilities for these elite athletes are rudimentary at best, particularly when compared to those of most other national teams.

鈥淚n London, I鈥檓 competing in the 200-meter,鈥� Fanouna says, 鈥渂ut I barely even train for it, as we don鈥檛 have access to a track. Now, I just run on the pitch. I鈥檓 not even trying to improve my game, just to preserve the skills I already have."

"As a runner, it鈥檚 only in competitions that I improve. Even when I just get to try out the track right before the competition 鈥� I get used to the surface and angles and I improve in just a short time.鈥�

Zaqout, who was paralyzed when he fell at a construction site in Israel in 1992, says the fact that Gazans qualified for London 2012 is nothing short of remarkable.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a training ground or equipment of an international standard,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have the most basic tools, and no sports wheelchairs like other competitors, or even adequate javelins.鈥�

Fanouna trains with Zaqout, who is competing in shot put, javelin, and discus, on a 100-meter strip of grass adjacent to Palestine Stadium in Gaza City with four team members who didn鈥檛 qualify for London. The width of the training area is too narrow for all players to train simultaneously and they have to retrieve their own apparatus after tossing them as far as possible.

There is no running track and only one Olympic-standard discus to accommodate the four discus throwers. The track leading up to the training gym is covered in sand, meaning it is not wheelchair accessible without assistance. 聽

Sponsorship and government support

Fanouna says athletes in Gaza need more regard and support from government authorities and society as a whole, particularly those heading to the Olympics.

鈥淚magine you are an athlete and you made it your life to represent your country and lift up its flag, but you get no support in return 鈥� not even if you bring home the World Cup," he says.

Fanouna won gold for his long jump at the Asian Games in 2010 in addition to his bronze at the Athens Paralympic Games. 鈥淚t was one of my dreams to raise my flag and play my national anthem at a prestigious competition,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here were so many countries and people there that day, so my dream really came true.鈥�

Fanouna stresses that although he is not interested in riches, he thinks he and other athletes deserve a respectable salary for being the best at what they do. 鈥淚f an athlete from any other country had got a bronze medal in the Athens Paralympics, his country would award him with a respectable winners fee. I got paid 1,000 Shekels ($250).鈥澛�

Most athletes competing in the Games will have spent years training at sports centers funded by government grants, will be training with tracksuits provided by sports sponsors, and are already acquainted with Olympic-standard equipment provided by their nations鈥� sports franchises. But the Gazan聽Paralympic athletes have been struggling to even get enough funds for their tracksuits.

鈥淢aybe we鈥檒l end up on the street with a cup, asking for donations for our tracksuits,鈥� Fanouna jokes.

Fanouna and his team rely on sporadic funding from private donors, as well as support from the Palestine Olympic Committee, which is based in the West Bank, under the jurisdiction and coordination of the Palestinian Authority (笔础).听础濒迟丑辞耻驳丑 Hamas does not discourage sport, it also doesn鈥檛 fall high on their list of priorities.

Muhammad Fanouna worries that the lack of local support will drive potential champions away from competitive sport.

鈥淎 player might represent Gaza and Palestine at an international level but, because there鈥檚 no support for him, when he wants to marry and start a family, then he鈥檒l leave in search of a job.鈥澛�

For Khamis Zaqout, success isn鈥檛 just about a medal, but about inspiring Palestinian youths.聽

鈥淢y success shows the world that here is a Palestinian in Gaza, which is besieged and disadvantaged, yet still able to compete at international levels. We are human beings from humble beginnings, who changed the concept of Palestine and of disabled sports and that is my purpose and message. There is no such thing as impossible."