Sudanese athlete overcomes diversity to run for Australia
0:00:11.530,0:00:18.530
I was born in Sudan. It is a country in Northern
Africa.I was living in a bad situation. Your
0:00:24.289,0:00:30.610
choice was to stay there and die or get out
of the country and live.Melbourne was different
0:00:30.610,0:00:36.649
world. It was terrible. I couldn’t understand
what anyone was saying and I didn’t know
0:00:36.649,0:00:43.649
what was going on. I was hiding from everyone
and talking only to my own people. I found
0:00:44.879,0:00:51.879
it hard picking up English.
0:00:53.839,0:01:00.839
School got me into running. I competed in
school cross country and athletics.Doing P.E.
0:01:01.929,0:01:08.090
I was real good (at running). The teacher
got me to join a club in Melbourne. He paid
0:01:08.090,0:01:13.130
and did everything for me just so I could
run.I didn’t really like running and had
0:01:13.130,0:01:20.130
no idea that it was a sport but he encouraged
me to have a go at it. I trained for a few
0:01:23.229,0:01:28.710
weeks and I started liking it so I stayed
with it.
0:01:28.710,0:01:35.710
At the club it was pretty difficult. Trying
to understand what the coach was saying was
0:01:44.439,0:01:50.799
hard because I didn’t have much English.
When I went there I found that there were
0:01:50.799,0:01:56.259
much fitter guys than me so it was hard to
keep up with them.
0:01:56.259,0:02:01.369
I
0:02:01.369,0:02:08.369
had a lot of good athletes and because of
that I tended to be down in Melbourne a lot.
0:02:11.090,0:02:14.210
In the coaching circles you meet up with a
lot of the other coaches and I became friendly
0:02:14.210,0:02:21.210
with one in particular after I helped him
coach one of his athletes in Ballarat.
He mentioned in a conversation one day that
0:02:31.150,0:02:37.420
a young Sudanese lad named Duer, who he used
to coach on an infrequent basis, had moved
0:02:37.420,0:02:43.370
to Ballarat so we tried to find him without
much luck. One day we saw a photo of him in
0:02:43.370,0:02:50.099
the paper playing soccer for a local team
so by hook or by crook we tracked him down
0:02:50.099,0:02:53.360
and asked him whether he wanted to come down
for a run and the rest is history.
0:02:53.360,0:02:57.879
I started running with Rod’s group and found
that the other athletes were good guys. They
0:02:57.879,0:03:04.879
and Rod massively supported me so I decided
to stick to it.”
0:03:05.110,0:03:12.110
3.13 - 3.35 Duer's coach, Rod Griffin speaking
to camera in a gymnasium
0:03:12.909,0:03:18.790
I’m blessed with a really good training
group of girls, guys and people from all ages
0:03:18.790,0:03:25.030
from 50 down to 12 years old. They are just
all good people. I think that because I had
0:03:25.030,0:03:31.189
such a good group and they made Duer feel
so welcome I didn’t have to ask him to stay.
0:03:31.189,0:03:38.189
He enjoyed their company and they enjoyed
his company. It was just a natural progression.
0:03:45.769,0:03:51.860
He showed it almost from the first day. It
was a week into training with us where I realised
0:03:51.860,0:03:58.040
how committed he was. Duer lives at the other
end of town about 20 km’s away from where
0:03:58.040,0:04:04.530
we train. He missed the bus to get out to
training one day so he ran here. I knew then
0:04:04.530,0:04:07.650
that this kid is fair dinkum about wanting
to become an athlete.
0:04:07.650,0:04:14.650
It was a real fast 3 km run. I went out there
and gave it everything I got. I ran 9 minutes
0:04:22.100,0:04:29.100
flat and from point I knew that I could achieve
something.
0:04:36.270,0:04:41.050
Some of the challenges locally revolve around
transport. He lives at the other end of town
0:04:41.050,0:04:47.210
so we need to make sure he can get home and
get to training. We usually have a roster
0:04:47.210,0:04:49.960
where some of the athletes might drop him
off some nights whilst I’ll drop him off
0:04:49.960,0:04:56.960
on other nights. On a bigger scale it’s
when we start looking at major events that
0:04:57.910,0:05:03.729
we face some challenges. Duer is not funded
by the VIS or Athletics Australia so when
0:05:03.729,0:05:10.729
we need to go to an interstate meet its difficult
to find the funding for flights and accommodation.
0:05:14.720,0:05:21.720
This is a major challenge that me as a coach/manager
has to look at. Also I’ve noticed that when
0:05:24.160,0:05:28.150
some people talk to Duer they yell at him
because they think he doesn’t understand
0:05:28.150,0:05:34.250
English. He speaks better English than most
of us do. I think at times there is perceived
0:05:34.250,0:05:39.740
language barrier and that some people think
that Duer’s from another planet.
0:05:39.740,0:05:46.740
At first they (my parents) didn’t like me
doing running because they reckon that I should
0:05:49.380,0:05:55.880
be playing soccer. It was game I played back
where I was born and people treated it importantly.
0:05:55.880,0:06:02.310
Since I made the Australian junior world cross
country team though they have given me massive
0:06:02.310,0:06:06.139
support , encouragement and help.
0:06:06.139,0:06:12.150
I know Duer’s folks and I have been around
to their home and they are lovely people.
0:06:12.150,0:06:17.080
I coach the athlete. I know his parents are
fully on board with him and that’s all I
0:06:17.080,0:06:20.919
care about really. I think reality set in
for Duer’s dad when I had to go around to
0:06:20.919,0:06:27.919
his home one night with the paperwork to get
an Australian passport for him. It was then
0:06:28.940,0:06:35.940
when he realised that his son is pretty good
at this and that he is actually going to represent
0:06:36.000,0:06:37.360
Australia.
0:06:37.360,0:06:44.360
The advice I’d give coaches is to treat
your athletes as you would treat any of your
0:06:45.780,0:06:50.759
athletes. You don’t have to do anything
differently. If you are going to coach any
0:06:50.759,0:06:56.810
athlete from any background you need a support
structure for that athlete. If you are going
0:06:56.810,0:07:01.810
to coach a group of Sudanese athletes and
they live at the other end of town you shouldn’t
0:07:01.810,0:07:05.610
just expect them to come to training and make
their own way home. You have to set up an
0:07:05.610,0:07:11.960
infrastructure that enables them to get to
training and back. If they start to get to
0:07:11.960,0:07:17.169
the next level you also have to start to think
about how you are going to get funding for
0:07:17.169,0:07:24.169
them. It isn’t just going to fall into your
lap. You need to get out there and be proactive.
0:07:36.729,0:07:43.729
The first major race we went to was the Victorian
all-schools and he won that but it wasn’t
0:07:45.550,0:07:52.389
a very strong field. Since that he has probably
improved by 90 seconds over 5 km’s. Some
0:07:52.389,0:07:58.240
of the things that he has won are the Victorian
all-schools 5 km title, the Victorian 5 km
0:07:58.240,0:08:05.240
title at Under 20 level, two Victorian cross
country titles, a 4th in the trial for the
0:08:07.680,0:08:11.360
world cross country and then back in Australia
he came 3rd in the Australian cross country
0:08:11.360,0:08:13.849
titles.
0:08:13.849,0:08:20.849
When I first started running I didn’t know
that it was a big sport and that it could
0:08:26.599,0:08:33.599
give me a good future. Now that I know that
running is an important sport in the world
0:08:36.050,0:08:39.700
I know that it can help me in the future with
my career.
0:08:39.700,0:08:43.850
With the history that Ballarat has got with
Steve Monaghetti and others it a pretty fair
0:08:43.850,0:08:50.850
achievement for Duer to win the races he has
won at his age.
0:08:52.230,0:08:57.830
For me running is challenging. I love racing
and winning.
I was born in Sudan. It is a country in Northern
Africa.I was living in a bad situation. Your
0:00:24.289,0:00:30.610
choice was to stay there and die or get out
of the country and live.Melbourne was different
0:00:30.610,0:00:36.649
world. It was terrible. I couldn’t understand
what anyone was saying and I didn’t know
0:00:36.649,0:00:43.649
what was going on. I was hiding from everyone
and talking only to my own people. I found
0:00:44.879,0:00:51.879
it hard picking up English.
0:00:53.839,0:01:00.839
School got me into running. I competed in
school cross country and athletics.Doing P.E.
0:01:01.929,0:01:08.090
I was real good (at running). The teacher
got me to join a club in Melbourne. He paid
0:01:08.090,0:01:13.130
and did everything for me just so I could
run.I didn’t really like running and had
0:01:13.130,0:01:20.130
no idea that it was a sport but he encouraged
me to have a go at it. I trained for a few
0:01:23.229,0:01:28.710
weeks and I started liking it so I stayed
with it.
0:01:28.710,0:01:35.710
At the club it was pretty difficult. Trying
to understand what the coach was saying was
0:01:44.439,0:01:50.799
hard because I didn’t have much English.
When I went there I found that there were
0:01:50.799,0:01:56.259
much fitter guys than me so it was hard to
keep up with them.
0:01:56.259,0:02:01.369
I
0:02:01.369,0:02:08.369
had a lot of good athletes and because of
that I tended to be down in Melbourne a lot.
0:02:11.090,0:02:14.210
In the coaching circles you meet up with a
lot of the other coaches and I became friendly
0:02:14.210,0:02:21.210
with one in particular after I helped him
coach one of his athletes in Ballarat.
He mentioned in a conversation one day that
0:02:31.150,0:02:37.420
a young Sudanese lad named Duer, who he used
to coach on an infrequent basis, had moved
0:02:37.420,0:02:43.370
to Ballarat so we tried to find him without
much luck. One day we saw a photo of him in
0:02:43.370,0:02:50.099
the paper playing soccer for a local team
so by hook or by crook we tracked him down
0:02:50.099,0:02:53.360
and asked him whether he wanted to come down
for a run and the rest is history.
0:02:53.360,0:02:57.879
I started running with Rod’s group and found
that the other athletes were good guys. They
0:02:57.879,0:03:04.879
and Rod massively supported me so I decided
to stick to it.”
0:03:05.110,0:03:12.110
3.13 - 3.35 Duer's coach, Rod Griffin speaking
to camera in a gymnasium
0:03:12.909,0:03:18.790
I’m blessed with a really good training
group of girls, guys and people from all ages
0:03:18.790,0:03:25.030
from 50 down to 12 years old. They are just
all good people. I think that because I had
0:03:25.030,0:03:31.189
such a good group and they made Duer feel
so welcome I didn’t have to ask him to stay.
0:03:31.189,0:03:38.189
He enjoyed their company and they enjoyed
his company. It was just a natural progression.
0:03:45.769,0:03:51.860
He showed it almost from the first day. It
was a week into training with us where I realised
0:03:51.860,0:03:58.040
how committed he was. Duer lives at the other
end of town about 20 km’s away from where
0:03:58.040,0:04:04.530
we train. He missed the bus to get out to
training one day so he ran here. I knew then
0:04:04.530,0:04:07.650
that this kid is fair dinkum about wanting
to become an athlete.
0:04:07.650,0:04:14.650
It was a real fast 3 km run. I went out there
and gave it everything I got. I ran 9 minutes
0:04:22.100,0:04:29.100
flat and from point I knew that I could achieve
something.
0:04:36.270,0:04:41.050
Some of the challenges locally revolve around
transport. He lives at the other end of town
0:04:41.050,0:04:47.210
so we need to make sure he can get home and
get to training. We usually have a roster
0:04:47.210,0:04:49.960
where some of the athletes might drop him
off some nights whilst I’ll drop him off
0:04:49.960,0:04:56.960
on other nights. On a bigger scale it’s
when we start looking at major events that
0:04:57.910,0:05:03.729
we face some challenges. Duer is not funded
by the VIS or Athletics Australia so when
0:05:03.729,0:05:10.729
we need to go to an interstate meet its difficult
to find the funding for flights and accommodation.
0:05:14.720,0:05:21.720
This is a major challenge that me as a coach/manager
has to look at. Also I’ve noticed that when
0:05:24.160,0:05:28.150
some people talk to Duer they yell at him
because they think he doesn’t understand
0:05:28.150,0:05:34.250
English. He speaks better English than most
of us do. I think at times there is perceived
0:05:34.250,0:05:39.740
language barrier and that some people think
that Duer’s from another planet.
0:05:39.740,0:05:46.740
At first they (my parents) didn’t like me
doing running because they reckon that I should
0:05:49.380,0:05:55.880
be playing soccer. It was game I played back
where I was born and people treated it importantly.
0:05:55.880,0:06:02.310
Since I made the Australian junior world cross
country team though they have given me massive
0:06:02.310,0:06:06.139
support , encouragement and help.
0:06:06.139,0:06:12.150
I know Duer’s folks and I have been around
to their home and they are lovely people.
0:06:12.150,0:06:17.080
I coach the athlete. I know his parents are
fully on board with him and that’s all I
0:06:17.080,0:06:20.919
care about really. I think reality set in
for Duer’s dad when I had to go around to
0:06:20.919,0:06:27.919
his home one night with the paperwork to get
an Australian passport for him. It was then
0:06:28.940,0:06:35.940
when he realised that his son is pretty good
at this and that he is actually going to represent
0:06:36.000,0:06:37.360
Australia.
0:06:37.360,0:06:44.360
The advice I’d give coaches is to treat
your athletes as you would treat any of your
0:06:45.780,0:06:50.759
athletes. You don’t have to do anything
differently. If you are going to coach any
0:06:50.759,0:06:56.810
athlete from any background you need a support
structure for that athlete. If you are going
0:06:56.810,0:07:01.810
to coach a group of Sudanese athletes and
they live at the other end of town you shouldn’t
0:07:01.810,0:07:05.610
just expect them to come to training and make
their own way home. You have to set up an
0:07:05.610,0:07:11.960
infrastructure that enables them to get to
training and back. If they start to get to
0:07:11.960,0:07:17.169
the next level you also have to start to think
about how you are going to get funding for
0:07:17.169,0:07:24.169
them. It isn’t just going to fall into your
lap. You need to get out there and be proactive.
0:07:36.729,0:07:43.729
The first major race we went to was the Victorian
all-schools and he won that but it wasn’t
0:07:45.550,0:07:52.389
a very strong field. Since that he has probably
improved by 90 seconds over 5 km’s. Some
0:07:52.389,0:07:58.240
of the things that he has won are the Victorian
all-schools 5 km title, the Victorian 5 km
0:07:58.240,0:08:05.240
title at Under 20 level, two Victorian cross
country titles, a 4th in the trial for the
0:08:07.680,0:08:11.360
world cross country and then back in Australia
he came 3rd in the Australian cross country
0:08:11.360,0:08:13.849
titles.
0:08:13.849,0:08:20.849
When I first started running I didn’t know
that it was a big sport and that it could
0:08:26.599,0:08:33.599
give me a good future. Now that I know that
running is an important sport in the world
0:08:36.050,0:08:39.700
I know that it can help me in the future with
my career.
0:08:39.700,0:08:43.850
With the history that Ballarat has got with
Steve Monaghetti and others it a pretty fair
0:08:43.850,0:08:50.850
achievement for Duer to win the races he has
won at his age.
0:08:52.230,0:08:57.830
For me running is challenging. I love racing
and winning.
