Anas Al Khalifa
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1993 (age 30–31) Hama, Syria |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Paracanoe |
| Disability class | KL1, VL2 |
| Club | SV Halle Para Kanu |
| Coached by | Ognyana Dusheva |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Paralympic finals | 2020 |
| World finals | 2021 |
Anas Al Khalifa (born 1993) is a Syrian paracanoeist, who competed for the Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. Born in Syria, he now lives in Germany.
Personal life
[edit]Al Khalifa was born in 1993, in Hama.[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.[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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ a b c d "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.
- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.