Athlete Refugee Team Stories: Seyfu Jamaal Tahir

This feature is the third in a five-part series sharing the stories of refugee athletes Farida Abaroge, Seyd Taha Ghafari, Omar Hassan, Emmanuel Kiruhura Ntagunga and Seyfu Jamaal Tahir as they seek selection to the Athlete Refugee Team (ART) at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.

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From a relatively young age, Seyfu Jamaal Tahir didn’t feel safe in Ethiopia. Aged just 16, he fled his home country in search of a better life with his journey first taking him through Sudan and Libya, during which he spent 18 days in the Sahara Desert with hardly any water to drink.

He eventually made it to Tripoli in Libya, from which he crossed the Mediterranean Sea to make it to Italy. He then travelled north through to France and eventually on to the UK where he was able to start a new life.

Six months after settling in London, Jamaal, who used to run shorter distances as a schoolboy, started running for fitness. He soon discovered parkruns, and he finished second in his first ever attempt, clocking 17:11 for 5km. He returned one month later and won. By the end of that year, his PB was down to 15:48.

"One of the local runners offered to find an athletics club for me, and so I joined London Heathside,” says Jamaal. “They taught me how to speak English, they helped me, gave me shoes, everything.

“I now have an agent, Ayo Dada. He has supported a lot of athletes, and he was the one who helped me get on the Athlete Refugee Team. He supports me a lot, he finds races, and gives me a lot of confidence.

“There are a lot of refugee athletes in the UK,” he adds. “It feels good to be part of a team.”

View the full video feature on World Athletics Watch.

Video features on Farida Abaroge and Seyfu Jamaal Tahir will be published on World Athletics Watch during the next few weeks. The features on Omar Hassan and Seyd Taha Ghafari are already available.

Interview and video production by Christel Saneh for World Athletics