Earlier than each and every weightlifting festival, Mohammed Hamada thinks of Gaza.
He thinks of the demolition of his house and community, or of the lump grave he dug for citizens of the construction then to his.
Those instances have created a distinct roughly athlete. One that needed to devour animal meals to live to tell the tale, dropping 18kg within the procedure. And person who in the long run needed to drop Gaza and his community, so he may just aim and compete within the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games.
“We came out of Gaza not to escape death,” the 22-year-old Palestinian weightlifter mentioned.
“We left Gaza to complete our right to defend Palestine.”
Occupation at the get up
Mohammed comes from a community of weightlifters.
His nieces and nephews all take part within the game and his used brother, Hussam, has educated him for years as Palestine’s nationwide weightlifting professor.
At simply 18, Mohammed made historical past as the primary Palestinian Olympic weightlifter on the Tokyo 2020 Video games.
He next received gold on the 2022 Global Weightlifting Federation Yongster International Championships in Greece.
Mohammed’s occupation used to be starting up, however Israel’s struggle on Gaza, starting on October 7 nearest a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, jolted him immediately go into reverse to earth.
The focal point for Palestinians in Gaza become survival, as Israel relentlessly bombed the enclave, killing virtually 40,000 community.
And but, amid all of it, Mohammed remained dedicated to creating it to the Olympics.
His first hurdle: escaping Gaza.
The ‘passage of death’
At the same time as rockets and missiles rained unwell on their Gaza neighbourhood of Tuffah, Hussam persevered to professor his brother.
Lifting weightlifting bars within broken constructions, the pair did what they might.
“Resources are not what make a champion. It’s the circumstances that make a champion,” Mohammed remarked.
However even with their ongoing preparation, it wasn’t till early 2024 that the Hamadas made the verdict to aim and put together it to the Olympics.
Their father advised they aim to drop Gaza, and Hussam and Mohammed prompt for the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Strolling for 3 days, Hussam described the go as a “passage of death”.
“Leaving the house was like going to a funeral,” Hussam, who left at the back of a spouse and 3 boys elderly 13, 11 and 6, mentioned.
“Tareq – he hugged me and he didn’t let go,” Hussam mentioned of his youngest son. “Jude and Khamis were crying.”
Regardless of the burden of Hussam’s choice to drop, he feels reassured understanding he has his community’s assistance.
“I feel bad and wish I hadn’t left them but they believe in what we’re doing, in the Olympic dream, and in Mohammed,” Hussam mentioned.
“The Olympic journey is not just Mohammed’s dream but the dream of the whole family.”
For just about a era, the Hamada brothers waited in Rafah for information that might deliver their dream one step nearer – approbation from the Egyptian govt to drop war-torn Gaza.
Later 23 days of ready, the affirmation remarkably got here thru.
In early April, with modest greater than the garments on their backs, Mohammed and Hussam bid adios to Gaza and flew to Thailand, to compete within the IWF International Cup, held at the island of Phuket.
It used to be the closing qualifying match earlier than the 2024 Olympics.
Qualifying for the Video games
Even as soon as Mohammed used to be out of Gaza, qualifying for the Paris Olympics can be tough.
To get a wild card for the game of weightlifting, Mohammed used to be required to wait two qualifying occasions, together with the 2024 IWF International Cup in Thailand.
However Mohammed’s preparation, even with out the struggle in Gaza, used to be stuffed with complexities.
“As weightlifters, dietary supplements are really important for building strength,” Mohammed mentioned.
“These are not available in Gaza.”
So in 2022, when collaborating at a coaching camp within the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bought an over the counter complement to saving his weight and power.
“We later found out that the dietary supplements were counterfeit and had been laced with banned ingredients, although these ingredients were not listed on the supplement’s container,” he mentioned.
“[I] paid the price for something I did not [knowingly] commit,” he mentioned. “In the end, it was ruled as an ‘unintentional use’ of the substance.”
Mohammed gained a brief postponed.
The IWF International Cup in Thailand can be his first festival in additional than two years.
And in spite of his bliss to be again at the global carrying degree, the injuries of the struggle had been as sight as ever.
His vile weight reduction used to be an obstacle in a game that is predicated so closely on muscle and tool.
“We left Gaza just 10 days ago [and] I had very little time to regain my strength,” Mohammed mentioned, between repetitions at a coaching fitness center.
Surrounded by way of women and men at height bodily health, Mohammed recalled what he needed to devour to live to tell the tale.
“For almost 164 days we ate food that is not suitable for humans … including animal food.”
On festival date, Mohammed’s downside used to be open.
He lifted 100kg within the grasp and 120kg within the blank and remove. His private easiest is way upper – in 2021 he lifted 141kg within the grasp and 171kg within the blank and remove.
However going into the contest, Mohammed and Hussam knew he would by no means qualify on efficiency abandoned.
Instead, absconding Gaza and making it to Thailand used to be about collaborating within the ultimate Olympic qualifier.
Regardless of most effective making one qualifying match, Mohammed used to be subsidized by way of main carrying our bodies.
“We believe an exception will be made for Mohammed to be in the Olympics,” mentioned Nader Jayousi, technical director of the Palestine Olympic Committee.
Jayousi, who has identified the Olympian for years, mentioned he believed in Mohammed’s outstanding ability as an athlete.
“But when we have such circumstances – famine, starvation, losing weight, death … I don’t think that’s where we apply strict eligibility criteria,” he mentioned.
“He’s a representative of a whole nation.”
A protracted wait
Later the International Cup match in Thailand, the Hamada brothers relocated to Doha, Qatar.
Supported by way of the Palestinian, Qatari and Global Olympic committees, Mohammed started gaining weight and regaining his power.
Amid the Hamadas’ strict coaching regime, Gaza remained entrance of thoughts.
Moves persevered of their neighbourhood of Tuffah, moment information from their folks and Hussam’s kids trickled in.
Hussam’s sons would ship video updates status in entrance in their razed neighbourhood.
“I want to reassure you that we are okay after the shelling at the mosque,” 13-year-old Khamis will also be heard announcing in a single video.
“The truth is that the situation is more difficult than I imagined,” Mohammed mentioned. “From the first actual time I stepped out of doors of Gaza, I become obsessive about the concern of dropping family members.
“When I was in the middle of the events, the impact wasn’t as strong – but now I feel a kind of fear, anxiety, and sadness,” he added.
The Hamadas sacrificed proximity to their community for Mohammed’s Olympic purpose.
However it wasn’t to be.
On June 6, the IWF revealed an inventory of the athletes given wild playing cards to the Paris Video games.
Sitting throughout from one every other of their Doha lodge room, Hussam scanned the site to be informed that Mohammed’s title used to be lacking.
“All is well,” the professor quietly mentioned.
Sitting in peace for a number of mins, Mohammed in any case added, “This is just the beginning for us”.
Age Mohammed received’t compete on this moment’s Olympic weightlifting festival, he’s adamant this sadness is solely every other impediment.
The brothers have since relocated to Bahrain and proceed to coach 5 days a moment, with the then summer time Olympics in thoughts.
“We have the Los Angeles Olympics 2028,” Mohammed mentioned. “We will come back stronger than before.”