Rami Anis
Rami Anis
Rami Anis is a competitive swimmer and member of the Olympic Team Refugee.
Anis will be competing in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 at the summer Olympic Games. [2]
Early Life
Anis grew up in Aleppo, Syria.
At the age of 14 Anis began to have formal training in swimming.
His uncle, Majad Anis was a Syrian competitive swimmer and pushed Rami to get into swimming.
When the bombings, kidnappings, and violence became regular in Syria, his family sent him to Turkey to live with his brother.
Anis says, "The bag I took had two jackets, two t-shirts, two trousers – it was a small bag."
While in Turkey he trained at the Galatasaray Sports Club and spent most of his time swimming.
He was ineligible for competition though since he was not a Turkish citizen.
Anis then took an inflatable raft to Samos, Greece.
Eventually he found refuge in Ghent, Belgium.
Olympic Career
In 2016 the International Olympic Committee announced they would form a Refugee Team for athletes with "no home, no team, no flag, and no national anthem."
Anis was selected as one of ten refugee athletes to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. [1]