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![]() Guor Marial in the 2012 Summer Olympics Men's marathon in London | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Birth name | Guor Mading Maker |
Nationality | South Sudanese |
Born | Panrieng County, Unity, Sudan (present-day South Sudan) | 15 April 1984
Alma mater | Iowa State |
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) |
Sport | |
Country | ![]() |
Sport | Athletics |
Event | Marathon |
Achievements and titles | |
Olympic finals | 47th (2012); 82nd (2016) |
Personal best | 2:12:55 [1] |
Military career | |
![]() Maker receives an "Airman's Coin" at the Coin Ceremony February 1, 2018 outside the Pfingston Reception Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ | ![]() |
Years of service | 2018–present |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | 21st Dental Squadron |
Updated on 7 August 2023. |
Guor Mading Maker (born 15 April 1984), also known as Guor Marial, [3] is a South Sudanese Olympic track and field athlete. He is a Dinka tribesman.
Maker competed in the men's marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Due to the civil war that saw South Sudan split from Sudan, he has refused to compete under the flag of the latter, stating, "It would be betraying my people". He was one of four athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics under the Olympic flag rather than that of an individual country. [4]
Maker competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics for South Sudan, the country's first appearance at an Olympic Games.
A film has been made of his life called Runner. [5]
Maker left home at the age of seven to live with his uncle in northern Sudan. [3] In 1994, at the age of nine, he fled from a refugee camp during the Sudanese Civil War. [6] While 28 members of his family were killed during the conflict, [6] he was able to escape to Egypt, and then permanently to the United States. [7] He was granted refugee status by the United States when he was 16. Though his parents survived the civil war, at the time of the 2012 Olympics he had not seen them in 20 years. [8] However, he returned to South Sudan in 2013 and was reunited with his parents. [3] Eight of his brothers and sisters were killed in the war. [9]
He began participating in track and field while attending high school in Concord, New Hampshire, [10] after being encouraged by his gym teacher. [3] He also competed in college at Iowa State, where he was an All-American athlete. [8]
Marial fulfilled the A-qualification standard for the marathon in October 2011, allowing him to participate in the Olympic marathon event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. [6] His case was called "unique" by the IOC, [11] as prior to the games South Sudan had yet to form a National Olympic Committee and seek full recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would have allowed them to send a team and compete under the flag of South Sudan.
Marial holds permanent resident status in the United States, but not citizenship. [9] According to his interview in Runner's World , he applied for naturalization to become a U.S. citizen in 2011 and had his naturalization interview, but his application remains pending: "Technically, I was supposed to be a citizen last June, because I did everything, I did my citizen test, I did my interview, I did my fingerprint, and everything was all set. All I needed to do was go to their office and get my passport and do the ceremony. That was in June 2011, but there has been a security background check...and that's what took everything longer." [12]
The National Olympic Committee of Sudan offered to allow Marial to compete as a member of the Sudanese team, but he rejected this offer, saying, "It's not right for me to do that. It's not right for me to represent the country I refuged from." [13] He went on to say, "If I ran for Sudan, I would be betraying my people. I would be dishonoring the two million people who died for our freedom." [9]
The IOC-executive board announced its decision on 20 July to allow Marial to participate as an Independent Olympic Athlete. [14] However, his travel documentation did not reach him in time, and so he could not march in the opening ceremony on 27 July. [8]
Marial finished 47th in the marathon, with a time of 2:19:32. [15] His personal best is 2:12:55. [1]
In 2013, Marial became a US citizen. [16] He competed at the 2012 Olympics using his adopted name of Marial, which was the surname of his uncle. However, he has since reverted to his birth name. [3]
Marial was selected for the 2016 Olympic Games in the marathon. He was the flag-bearer for South Sudan at the opening ceremony. [17]
He finished with a season best of 2:22:45, coming 81st overall. [18]
Maker became an Airman in the United States Air Force on 2 February 2018. [19] He was selected for the United States Air Force World Class Athlete Program. [20] He is currently a dental technician with the 21st Dental Squadron. [21]
Lopez Lomong is a South Sudanese-born American track and field athlete. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, came to the United States at the age of 16 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
Four independent Olympic Athletes competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the United Kingdom. These were athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles, and from the newly formed state of South Sudan. This was the third time that athletes had competed as independent participants in the Olympics. None of the athletes won an Olympic medal.
Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a result of international sanctions, from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees, and from Russia for mass violations of anti-doping rules.
Sports in South Sudan are still not widely recognized internationally.
One Independent Olympic Athlete competed at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. The athlete was from South Sudan.
South Sudan competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The South Sudan National Olympic Committee (NOC) was admitted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 128th IOC Session on 2 August 2015.
Sudan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Summer Olympics.
The Refugee Olympic Team competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016, as independent Olympic participants.
South Sudan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. South Sudan had been an independent nation since 2011, but its civil war had delayed its membership with the International Olympic Committee until 2015, making 2016 its first official appearance at the Olympic Games. The country was offered three universality placements in athletics, as no South Sudanese athletes met the Olympic qualifying standards prior to the Games. Three athletes, two men and one woman, competed in three track and field events, but did not win any medals. The sole woman, Margret Rumat Hassan, was given a spot eight days prior to the start of the Games that had been allotted previously to Mangar Makur Chuot. This change was against the advice of the South Sudan Athletics Federation and was due allegedly to pressure from Samsung, for whom Hassan had appeared in an advertisement. The flagbearer for both the opening and closing ceremony was Guor Marial, a marathon runner who, then unable to represent South Sudan, had competed as an Independent Olympic Athlete in 2012. Five South Sudanese nationals also competed as members of the Refugee Olympic Team.
James Nyang Chiengjiek is a runner originally from South Sudan, but now living and training in Kenya. He was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT) at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He placed last in his 400 m heat. He was also qualified to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ROT, and placed last in his 800 m heat after tripping due to a fellow competitor's involuntary touch.
Yiech Pur Biel is a track and field athlete and UNHCR goodwill ambassador originally from Nasir, South Sudan, but now living and training in the United States. He was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete for the Refugee Olympic Team in the 800 m event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He placed last in his heat.
Anjelina Nadai Lohalith is a track and field athlete originally from South Sudan, but now living and training in Kenya. She competed as part of the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world in order to raise global awareness of the scale of the migrant crisis in Europe. In September 2017, the IOC established the Olympic Refugee Foundation to supporting refugees over the long term.
Rose Nathike Lokonyen is a track and field athlete from South Sudan, but who later lived and trained in Kenya.
The Athlete Refugee Team (ART) is a delegation under which refugee athletes can compete collectively at IAAF competitions. The official IAAF logo was used as the team's flag until 2019. World Athletics collaborated with Kenyan long-distance runner Tegla Loroupe to form the team in 2014 as a short-term response to the growing refugee crisis that left millions of people dislocated or stateless. However, it has since turned into a sort of permanent feature at World Athletics events due to the refugee crisis only worsening. Many of the athletes originate from a variety of nations such as: Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Ethiopia. They include a majority of runners, as well as professional swimmers, material artists, etc.
Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed is a Sudanese-born runner competing internationally over 5,000 and 10,000 metres. Mohammed was one of 29 athletes across 12 disciplines who representing the refugee Olympic team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Tachlowini Melake Gabriyesos is an Eritrean-born long-distance runner. He lives and trains in Tel Aviv, where he runs with the Emek Hefer club and is supported by an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Athlete Scholarship. He has competed over 3000 metres, 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, the half marathon and the marathon. He finished in 16th place at the 2020 Olympics.
Dominic Lokinyomo Lobalu is a South Sudanese middle and long-distance runner. He currently lives and trains in Switzerland and competes for On Running.
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