There is no doubt that during this crisis
Syria has lost plenty of athletes and swimmers.
It's not fair that Syria counts on only one female swimmer.
I mean to create more than one "Bayan" in Syria.
(IN THE DARKEST CORNERS
(OF WAR-TORN NATIONS
(THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT ENDURES)
(ATHLETES UNDER FIRE)
(BAYAN JUMAH, SWIMMING, SYRIA)
I'm Bayan Jumah from Aleppo.
I am Syria's national team swimmer.
My brothers used to be national champions.
They used to take me to the swimming pool with them.
I kept training until I competed in the nationals.
My first Olympic appearance was in the 2008 Games.
My second time was at the London Olympics,
where I competed in the 100m freestyle event.
Thank God, I got a good time
and a new record for me.
If I am to talk about the most important event in my life,
it's the Rio Olympics.
I raced the 50m freestyle.
I was so happy with my score
as one of the best 50 swimmers in this category
and the best Arab swimmer in this race.
(BAYAN BECAME A THREE-TIME OLYMPIAN
(WHILE SYRIA WAS AT WAR)
(SINCE 2011 MOST OF THE NATION'S ATHLETES
(HAVE FLED THE COUNTRY)
(TODAY BAYAN IS THE ONLY FEMALE OLYMPIC SWIMMER IN SYRIA)
(DAMASCUS, SYRIA)
The war has affected swimming in Syria. Families migrated
taking their children away, so we lost national swimmers.
(BAYAN WANTS HER RESULTS TO INSPIRE
(A NEW GENERATION OF SWIMMERS)
I hope I am a source of inspiration and pride
to all kids abroad and in Syria.
If I make it to Tokyo, it will be my fourth Olympics,
God willing. I will start working for it now.
It's my main goal.
(IN 2 WEEKS, BAYAN IS COMPETING
(FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 8 MONTHS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC)
(SHE HOPES A GOOD RESULT WILL REACH
(A HUGE AUDIENCE ACROSS SYRIA)
There's no rival for Bayan in Syria,
she's the only swimmer.
If she drops swimming at any time,
there won't be any more swimming in Syria.
Bayan is a real talent.
If Bayan gets an ideal training environment,
I'm positive she will be one of the five best swimmers
at the Tokyo Olympics.
(BAYAN HAS COPED WITH INFERIOR TRAINING FACILITIES
(THROUGHOUT HER CAREER)
(WAR CONDITIONS RESTRICT THE POWER SUPPLY
(TO THE NATIONAL POOL)
One of the biggest challenges we face is the cold water.
I have to move to keep my body warm.
I keep swimming, but my lips and muscles
turn blue every time.
It's real suffering.
It's not the ideal environment for an Olympic athlete
who has won international competitions,
but we must persist despite the conditions.
Can you take a photo of us with her?
Sorry for bothering you,
I'm so proud of our champion.
I hope they will become world champions.
She deserves better.
She deserves better conditions than those in Syria.
(BAYAN LEFT HER FAMILY WHEN SHE WAS 12
(TO PURSUE HER SWIMMING CAREER)
When I was first invited to join
the national team in Damascus,
it was very hard for me.
I was away from my family, living by myself
with my own responsibilities.
(BAYAN'S FAMILY LIVE 400KM AWAY IN THE CITY OF ALEPPO)
(WHILE BAYAN WAS TRAINING FOR RIO 2016
(ALEPPO WAS DEVASTATED)
All communications in Aleppo were shut down.
I was in Damascus without knowing
about my family for 10 days.
The worst 10 days in my whole life.
(AS BAYAN FINALIZES PREPARATION
(FOR THE CZECH EVENT, PLANS CHANGE)
(THE ALEPPO ROAD HAS REOPENED
(AND SHE HAS 24 HOURS TO SEE HER FAMILY)
(ALEPPO, SYRIA)
Because of siege, this road is often blocked,
so I can't see my family.
This is actually the hardest part.
No matter how hard it was for us,
it was nothing compared to her.
She suffers more.
But God gives her strength to do more.
You're the warmth of my soul, my mother
I don't know what runs in my veins
Is it your love or my blood?
We're so proud of my sister Bayan.
She achieved success under such hard crisis.
She made all Syrians happy.
Thank God for her successes.
It's very sad, especially
when I see the destruction in Aleppo
and people's suffering, how hard it is
and where they are now.
(THROUGH THE WAR, BAYAN HAS BEEN DETERMINED
(TO REMAIN A ROLE MODEL)
(SHE WANTS HER ACHIEVEMENTS
(TO MOTIVATE A NEW GENERATION OF SWIMMERS)
Look at what happened to this pool.
I was raised here. This is where I started swimming.
I spent my childhood here with my brothers and friends.
It's empty. There are no people any more. It's a cafe now.
It hurts me deeply.
I mean to create more than one "Bayan" in Syria.
It's not fair that Syria counts on only one female swimmer.
I hope I can help train a new generation
to participate in international championships.
(FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE RACING AT RIO 2016
(BAYAN LEAVES SYRIA TO COMPETE INTERNATIONALLY)
(HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ, CZECH REPUBLIC)
This competition is important for me because
I have to compete a lot, and this for me
is the first competition this year after the Olympic Games.
I would be very happy if I can get good results.
Swimming, it's my life,
so when I achieve good results that's all that I want.
(THE GRAND PRIX OF HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ
(ATTRACTS THE BEST SWIMMERS FROM CENTRAL EUROPE)
This is a qualifying possibility for our swimmers
for the European and World Championships this year.
We have a lot of local swimmers
and also some international swimmers
from Syria, Poland, Germany, Slovakia and Austria.
Lane number four, Bayan Jumah from Syria.
It's my dream to be the fourth Olympic Games 2020.
And all that I do, it is to be there in Tokyo.
If it's the fourth, it will be
an amazing thing for the Syrian people.
I achieved some goals and I have more.
(BAYAN CLAIMED SECOND PLACE IN THE 100M FREESTYLE IN 58.60)
It was good, not my best time,
but it was good for the first competition this year.
I've been doing this for 20 years
and I'm still anxious before every race that Bayan does,
but today she performed very well.
When I'm getting awarded
and the national anthem is playing, with the flags waving,
it makes me forget all the suffering
I've had in my life and in my training.
I hope to be a reason for happiness
and pride for the people of Syria.
(BAYAN'S RESULTS WERE BROADCAST ACROSS SYRIA)
(SHE RETURNED TO ALEPPO
(AND HELPED REOPEN HER CHILDHOOD POOL)
(BAYAN IS NOW TEACHING KIDS TO SWIM
(AND CONTINUES TRAINING FOR TOKYO 2020)