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STORY: Maryan Nuh Muse: an Olympian athlete

competing for herself, her country and for Somali girls


SOURCE: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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CREDIT REQUIRED: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
DATELINE: 06/APRIL/2018, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

Maryan Nuh Muse: an Olympian athlete competing for herself, her country and for
Somali girls

Mogadishu – At the crack of dawn, 21-year-old Maryan Nuh Muse leaves the comfort
of her home in a suburb of Mogadishu for the athletic track at the Benadir Stadium,
the capital’s largest outdoor sports arena.

The Olympian spends an hour sprinting along the sandy track with her squad, and, as
Mogadishu stirs from its slumber, she concludes her morning exercises and starts
getting ready for school.

From the stadium, she takes a 15-minute ride to the school on a motorised rickshaw,
known as 'bajaj.'

“Education is very important, and at the same time, sports is one of my biggest
motivators, because I want to become a successful athlete,” says Maryan, who has
represented her homeland in youth tournaments across Africa and was one of two
Somalis who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

She finished last in her first heat in the 400-metre women’s race in Brazil, but her
placement has not deterred her – she wants to become the first Somali to win an
Olympic medal in the next Summer Olympics that will be held in Tokyo in 2020.

With no time to waste, Maryan cleans herself up and changes into her school
uniform, she is in her last year of High School. Her life is a balance between athletics
and studies, but her exuberance and resolve have helped her to succeed in sports.

But she is also aware that her efforts are not solely centred on achievements on
running tracks, that she also sets an example for other Somali girls.

In her capacity as a role model, Maryan is pushing for the inclusion of more Somali
girls in sports activities.
“Sports is a catalyst for peace. When more girls join sports, they will have something
that will bring positive change in their lives and those of others,” states Maryan.

It is a view that the president of the Somalia Athletics Federation, Khadija Aden
Dahir, shares.

“Sports bring people together. In the countryside, sports reconcile clans because they
forget about their clan identity and treat each other as brothers and sisters,” Khadija
says, adding that sports can exert a profound effect on young people, especially girls.

“When they enrol in sports, they realise how beneficial it is as it promotes their
health and physical well-being,” she notes. “It sets high expectations and promotes
positive thoughts as one gets to meet people from different backgrounds.”

Although government agencies and some non-governmental organizations have


invested in the development of sports in Somalia, available facilities are still
insufficient to meet the demand among youth.

It is with this in mind that Maryan appeals for more support and better policies to
promote the development of sports in Somalia.

Her call coincides with the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace,
observed annually on 6 April, with the aim of bringing goodwill and positive social
outcomes through sporting achievements.

Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development, according to the


United Nations. In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world body
recognizes the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and
peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the
empowerment of women and young people.

END

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