Anas Al Khalifa

Anas Al Khalifa (born 1993) is a paracanoeist, who competed for the Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Born in Syria, he now lives in Germany.

Anas Al Khalifa
Personal information
Born1993 (age 29–30)
Hama, Syria
Sport
SportParacanoe
Disability classKL1, VL2
ClubSV Halle Para Kanu
Coached byOgnyana Dusheva
Achievements and titles
World finals2021
Paralympic finals2020

Personal life

Al Khalifa was born in 1993 in Hama, Syria.[1] He fled the country due to the Syrian civil war.[2] He lived in an internment camp for two years,[3] before fleeing to Turkey in 2014. He later travelled through Greece, and in August 2015, Al Khalifa arrived in Germany, where he got a job installing solar panels.[1] He has lived in Halle, Germany.[4][5]

In 2018, Al Khalifa broke his back in a workplace accident, and became reliant on a wheelchair.[6] His brother was killed in Syria in 2020.[2]

Career

Al Khalifa is coached by former Olympian Ognyana Dusheva, and trains at SV Halle Para Kanu.[1] He started training in 2019 in an indoor swimming pool.[1] In April 2021, he failed to qualify for the German paracanoe team for the delayed 2020 Summer Paralympics.[6] In May 2021, he competed at the Paracanoe World Cup event in Szeged, Hungary,[5] and later in the year he also competed at the 2021 Canoe Sprint European Championships, where he beat his personal best time by over five seconds.[6]

In June 2021, Al Khalifa was announced in the Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[7] He competed in the KL1 and VL2 events, finishing sixth in the heats of both events.[2] He finished ninth overall in the KL1 event[8] and was fifth and last in his VL2 semi-final.[9] Later in the year, Al Khalifa came fifth in the KL1 event at the 2021 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships. He competed for Germany at the championships.[10]

References
  1. "Sport turns darkness into light for Syrian refugee athlete Anas Al Khalifa". International Olympic Committee. 8 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. "The incredible journey to Tokyo of Anas Al Khalifa". International Canoe Federation. 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. "Refugee athletes Parfait Hakizimana and Anas Al Khalifa defy the odds in Tokyo". International Paralympic Committee. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  4. "Ich habe mein Leben zurück". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 2 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  5. "Der Syrer Anas Al Khalifa schaffte es über den SV Halle nach Tokio". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  6. "ANAS AL KHALIFA IM REFUGEE-TEAM FÜR DIE PARALYMPICS" (in German). Deutscher Kanu-Verband. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  7. "From Syria to the Paralympics: A refugee finds strength in kayaking". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  8. "Canoe Sprint – Men's Kayak Single - KL1 200m – Final B – Results" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  9. "Canoe Sprint – Men's Kayak Single - VL2 200m – Semi-final 2 – Results" (PDF). Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  10. "2021 ICF CANOE SPRINT & PARACANOE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | KL1 Men 200m - Final A". Spotfokus. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
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