Raed Ahmed
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Iraq |
| Born | 5 June 1967[1] |
| Weight | 98 kg (216 lb)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Weightlifting |
Raed Ahmed (born 5 June 1967) is an Iraqi weightlifter. He represented Iraq at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where he was the flagbearer during the opening ceremony. Ahmed defected to the United States after his event was over.
Life prior to the Olympics
Ahmed was born in Basra, Iraq.[2] He attended college and has a degree. He lived in southern Iraq prior to the Olympics.[3]
In 1984, Ahmed became the Iraqi champion of weightlifting in the 99kg weight class.[2] Uday Hussein, Saddam Hussein's oldest son, was appointed the chairman of the Iraqi Olympic Committee the same year.[4] Uday was known for torturing athletes after failure and Ahmed repeatedly attempted to lower his expectations. While he had considered defection at the 1995 World Weightlifting Championships,[2] held in Guangzhou, China,[5] he thought he would be forcibly repatriated if he attempted to do so.[2]
1996 Olympics
As the flagbearer for Iraq at the opening ceremony in Atlanta, Ahmed was forbidden from looking at U.S. President Bill Clinton[2] during the Parade of Nations on 19 July 1996.[6] He disobeyed these orders, noticing that Clinton was clapping for them; Ahmed stated that this made him finalise his decision to defect.[7][2] In his event, he finished in 23rd place,[7] which was third from the bottom.[2]
At the end of July,[α][β] Ahmed fled from the Olympic Village, which was located at Georgia Tech, while his minders were preparing for a visit to the zoo.[7][8] He was the second member of an Olympic delegation to defect in a week.[7][9] Prior to his escape, he had arranged to meet a student at the university who had facilitated his getaway.[7] He was brought to Decatur and subsequently met with agents from the Immigration and Naturalization Service to claim asylum.[8]
In a subsequent press conference at Emory University, Ahmed stated that he would be executed if he returned to Iraq.[8] Ahmed was called a "candle burning for Iraq" by a Kuwaiti journalist recognizing his "act of sacrifice".[3] He stated that if the asylum application were approved, he would continue weightlifting and bring his wife to the United States.[8]
Personal life
Ahmed's wife[γ] was evacuated from their house a day before Ahmed's escape[3] to a "haven in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq".[7] As of 2021, Ahmed lives in Dearborn, Michigan, saying that "Dearborn is like Baghdad" due to the significant Iraqi population following the Iraq War. He has five children.[2]
Notes
- ^ Sources disagree on which day Ahmed defected. Several contemporary sources published on 2 August (The Palm Beach Post and Chicago Tribune) state it was "Wednesday", which was 31 July.[8][7] Others published the same day (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) state it was "[t]hree mornings ago", which was 30 July.[3] A BBC source in 2021 states it was 28 July.[2]
- ^ Sources also disagree what time of day he defected. While The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and BBC states it was in the morning,[3][2] the Chicago Tribune states it was "a little after noon".[7]
- ^ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution states her name is Asra Ali Ahmed,[3] while The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier states it is Madiha Mohamad.[9]
References
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Raed Ahmed Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wright, George (8 July 2021). "The daring escape sparked by one forbidden glance". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Kindred, Dave (2 August 1996). "Defector rejecting Saddam, not Iraq". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ Farrey, Tom (22 December 2002). "The horrors of Saddam's 'sadist' son". ESPN. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Events: World Championships". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Back in the USA". The Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette. 20 July 1996. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Franklin, Tim (2 August 1996). "Tyranny prompts defection". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Iraqi says life rides on defection attempt". The Palm Beach Post. 2 August 1996. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Iraqi weightlifter sneaks to freedom". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Associated Press. 1 August 1996. Retrieved 1 October 2021.