Rio 2016 crowds rise to celebrate Syrian refugee Rami Anis on debut in pool
Anis finished sixth in his 100m freestyle heat on Tuesday (9 August) and did not qualify for the semi-finals
Rami Anis will also compete in the 100m butterfly on Thursday (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Rose)
In a day dominated by medal ceremonies and national anthems, a swimmer who has no country to call his own reminded the world that Rio 2016 is about much more than individual sporting achievement.
Rami Anis, a 25-year-old refugee from Aleppo in Syria, finished in sixth place in his heat of the 100m freestyle, in a time of 54s25, falling a long way short of qualifying for the semi-final.
That didn't stop the crowd at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium from giving Anis the sort of applause that is normally only meted out to record-breakers and gold medallists.
Rami Anis (in green): focused on Tokyo 2020 (Photo: Getty Images/Al Bello)
"I was a little scared and tense before the race, but at the same time I always knew that this event was the preparation for my specialty, which is the 100m butterfly," Anis said when he left the pool.
While he may have finished well offf the pace in Rio, Anis was the undisputed centre of attention for the world's media on the afternoon of Tuesday (9 August).
"It's wonderful to be the star of an event like this, at which refugees have drawn so much attention," Anis said.
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Anis will also compete in Rio in the 100m butterfly, his specialty (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Rose)
The real focus for Anis is Tokyo 2020. He is using Rio 2016 to gain experience and as a platform to share his message about today's global refugee crisis.
"I want to send the best possible image of refugees, of Syrians, of everyone who suffers injustic in the world. I want to tell them not to give up, to keep going."
Olympic refugee team: Rami Anis’s journey from Aleppo to the Rio 2016 Games
Anis will be back in the pool at the Olympic Aquatics Centre on Thursday to compete in the 100m butterfly.
He still hopes to meet the swimmer he calls 'a real idol': Michael Phelps of the USA, who now has 19 Olympic gold medals to his name.
"This is a dream and I don't want to wake up too soon," Anis said, before heading back to the athletes' village in Rio to join thousands of other Olympians who have welcomed the refugee as one of their own.
