PARIS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Reigning European 10,000 meter champion Dominic Lobalu, who will run in Paris under the IOC Olympic Refugee Team flag, said another man who began life as a refugee was his inspiration to take up distance running.
Lobalu was born in South Sudan, but war forced him to leave for Kenya and then to Switzerland.
It was there that he watched on TV as Mo Farah representing Britain claimed 5,000 and 10,000-meter gold in the London 2012 Olympic Games - a feat Farah would incredibly repeat four years later in Rio.
Farah was born in Somalia and traveled to Britain when he was young, so it wasn't hard for Lobalu to see a comparison.
Speaking to Olympics.com, he said that in 2012 he had "gone to watch football," and it was "the first time I saw athletics."
"When they put the athletics on, I was like 'why are you putting this thing on?'" he commented.
However, he stayed and watched Farah's thrilling 10,000 meters win. "I saw on his T-shirt that he [Farah] was running for Britain, but he is Somali. But then I was like, 'Ok, this thing can work.'"
The 25-year-old switched sports and took up athletics, becoming a force to be reckoned with over 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
"Now what I want is to hang the Olympic medal on my door,... The Olympics are like the dream for all the athletes and has good competitors, and for me to arrive there, it's like my dream come true," he said. ■
