Ahmad Wais

Ahmad Badreddin Wais (born 15 January 1991) is a Syrian cyclist and Olympian, who currently rides for French amateur team Hexagone–Corbas Lyon Métropole. He represents the refugee team at the Olympics. He rode in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.[3][4][5]

Ahmad Wais
Wais in 2017
Personal information
Full nameAhmad Badreddin Wais
NicknameBadri
Born (1991-01-15) 15 January 1991
Aleppo, Syria
Height181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Team information
Current teamHexagone–Corbas Lyon Métropole
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeAll-rounder
Amateur teams
2016Marco Polo[1]
2017Tempo Sport
2018–2019VC Horgen
2022–Corbas Lyon Métropole
Professional teams
2018–2019VIB Sports
2021Kuwait Pro Cycling Team[2]

Biography

Ahmad Badreddin Wais was born January 15, 1991, in Aleppo, Syria. He would begin cycling at age 14, and go onto to compete in the 2009 UCI Juniors World Championship. Wais would continue training through the Syrian Civil War his family leaving him as they fled to Turkey in 2013.[6] He would live alone in Damascus as a student until 2014, when he decided to leave the country as a refugee.[7][8]

In 2014 Wais would begin his journey as a refugee, traveling by car through Syria and Lebanon, ultimately taking a boat to Turkey to reunite with his family.[8] He would then travel by ship to Greece and eventually gain refugee status in Switzerland which he arrived in by plane.[7] Wais would not compete again until 2017, citing the physical and emotional toll of the ordeal; going so far as to put off training until 2015.[6] In 2016, he was a member of the Dutch Marco Polo team.[1]

He would become a prospective candidate for the 2016 Refugee Olympic Team.[6][9]

Wais has not returned to Syria since leaving, because he is classified as having evaded conscription by the Syrian Military.[6]

He did not attend the 2016 Olympics, however two female swimmers from Syria were selected for the very small refugee team. By 2020 his country was still in a state of civil war and this time he was named to the Olympic team, which took place in 2021 due to the worldwide pandemic. He rode in the individual time trial event.

References
  1. "Ahmad Wais - FirstCycling.com". firstcycling.com. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  2. "Kuwait Pro Cycling Team". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  3. "Ahmad Wais". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. "UCI Road World Championships 2017: Elite Men - Individual Time Trial Results". cyclingnews.com. September 20, 2017. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  5. "World Championships: Elite men's individual time trial start times". cyclingnews.com. September 24, 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  6. Swaminathan, Swaroop (June 23, 2020). "Wais man's tale". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  7. McCall, Damian (2018-10-01). "From Syria to Innsbruck, cyclist makes remarkable journey". VeloNews.com. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  8. Julien, Pretot (2017-09-20). "Cycling - Wais completes journey from war-torn Syria to world championships". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  9. Urken, Ross Kenneth (2016-02-10). "How refugees fleeing Syria and ISIS are keeping their Olympic hopes alive". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
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