Majd Eddin Ghazal jumped 2.31m to clinch the gold medal in high jump at the 2019 Asian High Jump Championship in April and ever since, he only saw his coach at international meets and at the World Championship in October.
This is not the ideal preparation for an athlete who started off the season by meeting the Tokyo 2020 qualification standard, yet wasn’t able to train with his coach for the rest of the season.
Ghazal has been looking for alternatives since then, but hasn’t been able to find neither a new coach who can accompany him on his Olympic journey, nor a solution that enables him to see his coach during competition season.
A long period of switching coaches
Changing coaches is not something new to the high jump Syrian star.
In his childhood, Ghazal played football and basketball before finding himself in athletics, high jump in particular, an event he used to watch in awe. Little did he know that he would become Syria’s high jump star and make his name heard on international podiums.
Ghazal started high jump when he was 16. In 3-years-time, he broke the 2-meter barrier, set a national U20 record of 2.09m, and won a bronze medal at the 2006 Pan Arab Junior (U20) Championship in Cairo, Egypt.
Following his junior record, hopeful eyes turned towards this young talented high jumper, who year after year, raised the bar higher and higher to reach the top ranking in his event.
The Syrian War
In 2011, the Syrian war broke out. During these tough times, one’s first instinct is to survive and sports moves down the ladder of priorities. Not only did the the dramatic events affect the athlete, but they also took their toll on his mental state.
10 years later, the unrest of the region still affects the high jumper. He continuously struggles to get visas to compete in International Meets, which are essential for his career development as a top athlete.
“Each time I travel I need to wait 2 weeks to get a visa. During heavy war times, I used to go to Beirut, Lebanon, to apply for visas as the embassies here were closed. When I get a visa, I usually have it single entry and for a short period of time,” he described.
Despite the hardship, Ghazal didn’t give up. On the contrary, he found more motivation to train and raise the colors of his country high. He qualified for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, but during his competition, the images of his war-torn country would haunt him, making him unable to focus solely on his performance.
Finding the ideal coach
Following his second Olympic participation, Ghazal was forced to change coaches yet again. In 2015, he trained alone until he found the perfect coach: Imad Sarraj reputed for being one of the best local coaches, according to the athlete.
Their journey together was remarkable beyond belief. Ghazal improved his national outdoor record to 2.36m. He won the World Military Games in 2015. He raised the indoor record to 2.28m and took silver at the Indoor Asian Championship in Doha, behind Mutaz Barshim.
2016 was his year. The build up towards the Rio Olympics was promising. Unfortunately, during the high jump finals, Ghazal was seriously ill. He completely lost his forces, and despite giving it his all, he fell short and finished in 7th place. He was later on admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with microcytic anemia, which drastically affected his performance.
Photo by Christel Saneh at the 2019 Asian Championship in Doha.
Together with Sarraj, they faced a lot of adversity from the war; yet, they grew together, understood each other, and worked very well as a team. Most often, they would try to work their way around the travel difficulties that they faced.
Ghazal won the second major medal for Syria after Ghada Shouaa’s when he won a bronze medal at the 2017 World championship in London.
On that day, Ghazal made Syria proud, his people who mainly followed football and basketball were chanting Ghazal’s name. The medal meant so much to every Syrian during these tough times. It was a sign of hope, a sign of victory over war.
The Forced separation
The duo who had achieved so much together was separated in 2017. Following issues with the Syrian federation, Sarraj moved to Oman to train the national team. Ghazal was left to train alone in Syria, monitored by his coach from afar.
“I believe that he is the best coach that has ever trained me. I know his potential and what we worked on to reach where we are at now. I couldn’t find another coach so I suggested to the federation to go to Oman for a few months to train with him and come back,” Ghazal said.
The agreement with the federation consisted of sending Ghazal from November to March to train in Oman. This new routine worked well until March but it was difficult for the athlete to train away from the eyes of his coach for the rest of the season.
Ghazal paid the price at the World Championship in 2019. Six months earlier, he had won gold with 2.31m in the exact same venue, this time he wasn’t able to qualify to the final because during all this time, he never trained with his coach.
High jump has become a very competitive event, and competing against athletes who have better training conditions is a huge disadvantage for him at this level.
Cherry on top of the cake: the pandemic
The situation couldn’t be worse. The pandemic hit the entire world. Covid-19 didn’t spare anyone. All athletes were affected, and Ghazal was no exception.
“I trained with my coach from November 2019 to March 2020 and I was lucky to take the last flight from Oman to Syria before total lockdown,” Ghazal commented.
In his home country, the federation was very flexible with their star. They allowed him to go to the stadium knowing that he was training alone. He even competed twice alone, jumping 2.26 and 2.28m as a test to see where he stood.
After his huge disappointment at the World Championships, he decided not to repeat the same mistake twice.
“I tried to contact coaches, but I either received negative answers or no answers at all. Recently a wrestling and a cycling coach came to Syria but they know the country well. Those who are not familiar with the region are usually scared to set foot in Syria”, Ghazal revealed.
Ghazal is not supposed to go through all of this: a war and visa issues simply because he is Syrian.
“I will never leave Syria. This is where I was born, where I grew up and where I became the person I am today. This is where my family and loved ones are,” he revealed.
Ghazal will be 34 in Tokyo 2020 (happening in 2021). Now, more than ever, he is in desperate need to be with a coach in order to make his dream a reality, either by seeing Sarraj all year long or by finding someone who can come to Syria to help him in what he referred to as his “last Olympic journey”.
“I want to prepare for the Olympics. I’m waiting for the situation to get better to see coach Imad. Covid-19 added fuel to the already burning fire: we are living day by day, not even able to plan ahead,” Ghazal said.
Gazal’s journey wasn’t easy, and the pandemic made it even harder. Others might have already quit, but what keeps him going is the dream of raising his flag on the Olympic stage in Tokyo.
“When I look back at my career, I see that despite a war, I was able to be on the podium of the World Championship, I was able to win an Asian Gold, I managed to stay on the top High Jump list,” he added.
Ghazal decided that 2020 was going to be his last season, but the Olympics were postponed for another year.
“Now all I have to do is work towards an Olympic achievement for my country, especially during these tough times. I have nothing to lose, I got used to the situation I am in, I accepted my fate and this is the last step that I have to take,” he added.
Give back to the sports community
Once he decides to remove his spikes, Majd wants to take two years off from track, to focus on his personal life, and get married to a high jumper he is currently engaged to, before pursuing a coaching career to train the next generation of Syrian athletes.
“This is the right time to invest in sports, especially after the war stripped the children of Syria of everything. They grew up among bombs and knew close to nothing about sports,” he said.
“Sports has changed my life. I believe it can have an impact on others, and help them have better opportunities than I did, now that the war is over,” he added
The Syrian war hit the sport sector in Syria hard. Ghazal wants to inspire a generation who grew up along blood-covered streets; a generation that needs real heroes who were able to overcome life obstacles and achieve their dreams. They need a hero they can relate to, a hero just like Majd Eddin Ghazal.
By Christel Saneh
