Syrian Refugee Chases His Dreams

In this world if you have the tools of courage, belief and hard work, you can make a lot of progress. With one’s back to the wall we can be faced with two options; to lie down or to chase your dream. Syrian refugee Eid Aljazairli is an example of the latter. Eid had to flee his war-ridden nation back in 2016 and was moved to the UK. From a near drowning to learning to swim in just 12 months, to aspiring to swim at the Olympic Games, Aljazairli’s story is one we can all learn from.

Crossing the Mediterranean in a small boat in order to flee Syria, the vessel gave way leaving Eid and those on board scared for their lives. Surviving the accident and eventually reaching the UK, Eid’s journey from Damascus was brutal. The process was a lengthy 4-5 years. “Since I’ve arrived in the UK I’ve been determined to make the absolute best of myself,” he said.

Having previously struggled to swim, Eid decided that in the UK he wanted to learn how. Watching on and copying the local teams he was able to make enough progress to start training in the hope of being selected for the 2020 Refugee Olympic Team. Local coaches offered their help to support his endeavours.

“In 2018, I came across a video of the US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and a dream was born in me; to become an Olympic swimmer. Although I had never swum before, I practiced every day. I won the London Adult Achievement Award from Swim England 2019 and the Gold National Adult Achievement Award in 2020”.

Eid put forward his best effort to qualify for the Refugee Olympic Team in 2021, however the IOC set the standard of 27.25s for the 50m freestyle, which Eid failed to fulfil. With a fire in his belly to take the next step, the standard set by the IOC for the 2024 Paris Olympics is 27.00s. A few months ago his best time was 31.4s in a short course pool, however recently at the London Aquatics Centre he posted a huge PB of 29.60s in a long course pool. Such rapid progress is exciting and the chances of him qualifying for Paris are certainly realistic.

Now living in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, Aljazairli is studying Accounting and Finance at Kings College London, having gained a place there after completing a Kings College Foundation Course in 2020-21. He is also training with Wayne Lock, the Head Coach at the highly regarded Anaconda Swimming Team in London. Due to press interest, he was also recently given a personal trainer from Nike. Momentum is building for the Syrian.

With only two years to go, Eid’s excitement is accompanied by a challenge to fund his dream, and he is certainly appreciative of the highs and lows that lie before him. Stay tuned to see more of Eid’s story and to see him in his new Funky Trunks as we support him on his journey.