Jerusalem judoka becomes first Palestinian to qualify for Olympic spot

Maher Abu Remeleh, 28, works in an Old City clothing store by day and trains by night

JERUSALEM (AP) — No special invitations and no exemptions. Not this time.

Judoka Maher Abu Remeleh qualified for the London Games on his own, using only his athletic prowess to become the first Palestinian to earn a spot at the Olympics.

“It’s a great feeling,” Abu Remeleh said after a recent training session in a small sports club just outside the historic walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, “because I am the first Palestinian athlete who qualifies for the Olympics with his own sweat.”

The other four members of the Palestinian team headed to London, two swimmers and two runners, did not meet the Olympic qualifying standards. Like other Palestinians who have participated in the Olympics since 1996, they will compete by invitation from the International Olympic Committee, a gesture also made to other delegations in need of extra assistance because of poor conditions at home.

The 28-year-old Abu Remeleh didn’t need that kind of help.

Working by day in the Old City in a shop selling colorful headscarves to devout Muslim women, Abu Remeleh is the son of a judo coach and began his career when he was only seven. He spends the first hours of the day in the family shop in the Old City, just footsteps from Jerusalem’s famous Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy sites. The Old City is located in east Jerusalem, annexed by Israel after the 1967 Mideast war and claimed by the Palestinians as a future capital.

In the afternoons he heads over to the nearby Al Quds Sports Club, where he trains in a large room laid out with mattresses. His coach, Hani Halabi, also heads the Palestinian Olympic team.

“This is the greatest achievement in the history of Palestinian sports,” Halabi said of Abu Remeleh’s qualification. “It’s not easy to reach the Olympics this way.”

Athletes in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the Israeli-occupied territories the Palestinians want for an independent state, have struggled with poor training facilities and an underdeveloped club system. In recent years, Palestinian sports official have begun making long-term investments they hope will bear results in a generation.

Since qualifying for London, Abu Remeleh has stepped up his training. The Palestinian judo team consists of athletes from east Jerusalem and the West Bank, their training and travel at times hindered by Israeli military checkpoints. Some of the other team members are now helping him train for the Olympics, serving as sparring partners.

Abu Remeleh competes in the 73-kilogram category and is ranked 162nd in the world by the International Judo Federation. He currently weighs 74 kilograms and is working to lose the extra weight before the London Games.

Until then, Abu Remeleh remains an inspiration to the children who stay after class to watch him train, perhaps dreaming of their own Olympic futures.

“I will put in my best efforts to reach the finals,” Abu Remeleh said. “There is nothing called the impossible.”