Lais Najjar

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Lais Najjar
2019-06-27 1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics JWCH Men's All-around competition Subdivision 3 Vault (Martin Rulsch) 146.jpg
Personal information
Full nameLais Najjar
Country representedFlag of Syria.svg  Syria
Born (2002-10-08) 8 October 2002 (age 22)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Residence Ann Arbor, Michigan
Discipline Men's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2016–present (SYR) [1]
College team Michigan Wolverines (2022–25)
Head coach(es)Yuan Xiao
Medal record
Men's artistic gymnastics
Representing Flag of Syria.svg  Syria
Arab Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Oran All-around
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Oran Floor exercise
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Oran Horizontal bar
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Oran Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Oran Vault
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Oran Parallel bars
FIG World Cup
Event1st2nd3rd
World Challenge Cup010
Representing the Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines logo.svg
NCAA Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 State College Team
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2024 Columbus Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Norman Team

Lais Najjar (born October 8, 2002) is an American-born Syrian artistic gymnast. He represented Syria at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Contents

Personal life

Najjar was born in Chicago, Illinois in 2002 to Chirin Chahkhachiro and Maher Najjar. [2] [3] He spent much of his childhood living in Syria while his father, a pulmonologist, traveled back and forth between the two locations. Prior to the start of the Syrian civil war, Najjar and his family moved back to the United States, where they would have better access to educational opportunities for himself and his two sisters. Najjar attended Hinsdale Central High School and currently competes for the University of Michigan Men’s Gymnastics Team. [1]

Gymnastics career

Najjar competed at the inaugural Junior World Championships in floor exercise and vault. He did not qualify for any individual event finals. [4]

Najjar made his senior-level debut at the Cairo World Challenge Cup, where he won silver on vault, behind Nazar Chepurnyi. [5] In 2022 Najjar began competing in NCAA gymnastics for the Michigan Wolverines. [6] Later that year he competed at the Asian Championships, Mediterranean Games and World Championships.

Najjar competed at the 2024 Asian Championships, where he placed 17th in the all-around. [7] In late May, Najjar was awarded the Tripartite invitation to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. [8]

Competitive history

YearEventTeamAA FX PH SR VT PB HB
2017
Junior Asian Championships 17
2019
Junior World Championships 42
2021 Elite Team Cup4
Cairo World Challenge Cup 7Silver medal icon.svg
2022 NCAA Championships Bronze medal icon.svg
Asian Championships 1317
Mediterranean Games 195
World Championships 49
2023 NCAA Championships Silver medal icon.svg
Asian Championships 21
Arab Games Bronze medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgGold medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svgBronze medal icon.svgSilver medal icon.svg
2024 NCAA Championships Silver medal icon.svg
Asian Championships 17
Olympic Games 514754

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References

  1. 1 2 "'You raised our heads': Lais Najjar's journey to the Olympics". The Michigan Daily . June 26, 2024.
  2. "Michigan Wolverines Profile: Lais Najjar". Michigan Wolverines .
  3. "FIG Profile: Lais Najjar". International Gymnastics Federation .
  4. "2019 Junior World Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. July 3, 2019.
  5. "Hosts Egypt claim two golds, Kovtun thrice golden in Cairo". International Gymnastics Federation . June 8, 2021.
  6. "Michigan Wolverines Men's Gymnastics 2022 Roster". Michigan Wolverines .
  7. "2024 Asian Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. May 21, 2024.
  8. @UMichGym (May 30, 2024). "Paris Bound" (Tweet) via Twitter.