meet Mr. Mohamed Ali. a Somalian born Dutch citizen who’s been living in the Netherlands since 2008. Mohamed Ali is middle to long distance athlete who is the Dutch 5000m champion, having finished the race in 13 minutes and 32 seconds (in 2017).
running has never been a straight froward, happy from the beginning (till the very end) path for Mohamed Ali. emotions run all over when he reflect upon the life he have lived, to become the man, he’s turning out to be. but, persistence, determination, and hunger to be a better person, a great person, pushes him towards progress after progress.
in january 15, 2017, Mohamed Ali ran his fastest half marathon in Kuwait at a time of 64.20 minutes. that’s one hour, four minutes and 20 seconds!
just last december, international athletic federation IAAF gave Mohamed Ali the green light to represent Netherlands (a dream that he had pursued since his migration to the Netherlands). in the summer of this year, Mohamed Ali will be wearing the orange to represent Netherlands for first time (on a major competition) as he puts his focus on the World Athletics Championship in Doha.
“an uncle taught me how to read and write” says Mohamed Ali. he earned his first diploma in Johan Cruyff College. a student who worked extremely hard to learn Dutch at record time (matching his running speeds). and he proudly speaks fluently in Somali, Arabic, English, Dutch and Ethiopian! that’s 5 languages, right there!
Mohamed Ali wears his smile almost all the time. a positive character by nature. a talented Somalian runner who left his two sisters, a brother and a mother in Somalia (a country torn by a dangerous civil war). Netherlands was a destination he reached through wandering!
emotions run all over when he reflect upon the life he have lived, to become the man, he’s turning out to be
coach Rene’ Godlieb helped him to the national top on the 5000m. the baton then taken over by the national coach Hoedt who now firmly believes that Mohamed Ali will walk with the national team in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
and fate has it that he will be lining up with 75 half marathoners to hit the roads of laamu 5am this saturday! how fast will he cross the finish line? how fast would he want to cross the finish line?