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Guor Marial
Photograph via Wikimedia Commons
Sport Landmark

Guor Marial

born 1984

Ran the Olympic marathon under no flag rather than Sudan's

Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Sudan Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.

Why they are here

His village was burned, twenty-eight of his family killed, his jaw broken by a rifle butt. Offered a place at London 2012 under Sudan's flag, he refused — "it would be betraying my people" — and ran under the Olympic flag instead.

Guor Marial is a South Sudanese marathon runner and refugee. During the war his village was destroyed, twenty-eight members of his family were killed, and his jaw was smashed with a rifle butt.

He entered the 2012 Games as a stateless athlete competing under the Olympic flag, having refused to run under the flag of Sudan. He returned at the 2016 Games to run for South Sudan, in the country's first Olympic appearance.
Sources

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