| Lais Najjar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Najjar at the 2019 Junior World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Lais Najjar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 October 2002 Chicago, Illinois, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Syria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2016–present (SYR) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Michigan Wolverines (2022–25) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Yuan Xiao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lais Najjar (born October 8, 2002) is a Syrian-American artistic gymnast. He represented Syria at the 2024 Olympic Games.
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]
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]
| Year | Event | Team | AA | FX | PH | SR | VT | PB | HB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | |||||||||
| Junior Asian Championships | 17 | ||||||||
| 2019 | |||||||||
| Junior World Championships | 42 | ||||||||
| 2021 | Elite Team Cup | 4 | |||||||
| Cairo World Challenge Cup | 7 |  | |||||||
| 2022 | NCAA Championships |  | |||||||
| Asian Championships | 13 | 17 | |||||||
| Mediterranean Games | 19 | 5 | |||||||
| World Championships | 49 | ||||||||
| 2023 | NCAA Championships | | |||||||
| Asian Championships | 21 | ||||||||
| Arab Games | |  | | | | | |||
| 2024 | NCAA Championships | | |||||||
| Asian Championships | 17 | ||||||||
| Olympic Games | 51 | 47 | 54 |
