Ready First Combat Team Sends Iraqi Olympic Hopeful to U.S. Marathon

by Sgt. Mark Bell, 372nd MPAD

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An Iraqi teenager lived out his childhood dream when he
competed in a major U.S. marathon Dec. 7, thanks to the commander of the 1st
Brigade, 1st Armored Division and his brother.

Sponsored by the Ready First Brigade Combat Team, Ali Hashim Hamdan Al-Bahadly,
age 16, from Amara Misan, Iraq, competed in the 21st Annual California
International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento on Dec. 7, where he finished in 3
hours, 16 minutes.

The race was a 26-mile, 385-yard point-to-point race that began at Folsom Dam
and ended at the state capitol in Sacramento.

Ali is the first Iraqi citizen to compete in an international sports competition
since the liberation of Iraq. He left Dec. 3 for California where he competed
against more than 5,000 marathon runners from across the world.

Ali was sponsored by the Oakmont High School cross-country team in Roseville, a
suburb of Sacramento. While at Roseville, he met with several U.S.
Arabic-speaking families and high school students.

To help the process of obtaining Ali’s visa, Col. Pete Mansoor, the “Ready
First” commander, contacted the U.S. embassy in Amman, Jordan, to arrange for
expedited processing of his application.

“He deserves this opportunity to compete on the world stage as the
representative of a free Iraq,” Mansoor said. Ali and Mansoor met briefly for
the first time on Dec. 3, before international media interviewed Iraq's most
promising marathon competitor for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

The Sacramento marathon was Ali’s fourth marathon and most challenging to date.
Since the CIM is known as one of the fastest marathons in the United States,
Mansoor said the young runner had his work cut out for him.

“I hope to finish well,” Ali said with a smile, before leaving. “I want to do
good so I have a chance to qualify for the Olympics.”

Ali’s running career started as a hobby during his pre-teen years, but for the
past four years, he has been training to become an international competitor.

More than competing in the race, Ali said that going to America to compete
brings hope to other young athletes around Iraq.

“Maybe as I compete in this race, it will inspire other young athletes to try
harder to be given a chance to compete at the international level too,” he said.
“I want all of Iraq and the world to know that we are not bad people; but like
so many Americans, we love our sports.”

“By happy coincidence, the offices of the Interim Iraqi Olympic Committee are in
my zone,” Mansoor said.

In September, Mansoor’s brother, John, the Race Director for the CIM, asked his
brother if he could find an Iraqi marathoner who would be eligible to
participate.

“I got this idea after watching the participation of the female athlete from
Afghanistan in the World Track and Field Championships this summer in Paris,”
said John Mansoor. Col. Mansoor arranged a meeting with the Olympic committee
chairman, Ahmed Al-Samarrai, who took the proposal to the Iraqi Sports
Federation.

“When Ali participates in this important event, that will help Iraqi sports in
general,” said Al-Samarrai. “And it will show the world how good and kind are
the relations we have between Iraq and the States, and (that) it is different
from what the media is showing. ”

After winning the regional half-marathon race in southern Iraq and the Baghdad
Marathon in early October, Ali was selected by the Iraqi Sports Federation as
their choice to run in Sacramento.

“He is young and therefore represents the future of sports in Iraq,” the colonel
said.

Mansoor said athletic, scholarly, and cultural exchanges bring Iraqis and
Americans closer together and give them a different view of each other apart
from the daily contact of U.S. soldiers on patrol in a combat zone.

“Sports in Iraq were decimated under the evil regime of Saddam Hussein and his
band of thugs,” he said. “Women's sports in particular were almost completely
wiped out.”

“We are very excited that the CIM will be the first athletic event in the world
to host an athlete representing the ‘new’ Iraq,” said John Mansoor. “Ali
represents the new face of Iraq – hopeful and optimistic. His country is ready
to be an active member of the world athletic community again.”

According to Col. Mansoor, reports from California said Ali “was a great
representative for Iraq - very well spoken for a 16 year old.” Ali may not have
won the race, but his efforts have opened the door for other hopeful Iraqi
athletes.

John
On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD