Amazing Sport Stories: Bill Walton’s The Grateful Team - The Olympic defectors

Iraqi weightlifter Raed Ahmed was proud to carry his country's flag at the opening ceremony for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. But the honour came with a strict instruction: he was not to look at the American President, Bill Clinton. Iraq's Olympic Committee was led by Saddam Hussein's son, Uday, a man with a reputation for brutality.

But Raed had already begun to think of escape. And that night, with a single glance, he made up his mind. This is the story of how he took the most dangerous decision of his life, and what happened next.

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Published on Monday, 12th August 2024.

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