Guor Marial
{{Short description|Sudan-born long-distance runner}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| image = Guor Marial (Independent Olympic Athlete) - London 2012 Mens Marathon.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Guor Marial in the 2012 Summer Olympics Men's marathon in London
| birth_name = Guor Mading Maker
| nationality = South Sudanese
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|04|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = Panrieng County, Unity, Sudan (present-day South Sudan)
| alma_mater = Iowa State
| height = 1.80 m
| weight = 60kg
| country = {{SSD}}
| sport = Athletics
| event = Marathon
| olympics = 47th (2012); 82nd (2016)
| highestranking =
| medaltemplates =
| updated = 7 August 2023
| module3 = {{Infobox military person
| embed = yes
| image = 180201-F-XN660-004.jpg
| caption=Maker receives an "Airman's Coin" at the Coin Ceremony February 1, 2018 outside the Pfingston Reception Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
| allegiance = {{Flagu|United States}}
| branch = {{air force|US}}
| unit = 21st Dental Squadron
| serviceyears = 2018–present
| rank = 25px Senior Airman{{cite news |last1=Castillo |first1=Kaitlin |title=Maker runs towards greatness |url=https://www.505ccw.acc.af.mil/News/Article/3190974/maker-runs-towards-greatness/ |access-date=7 August 2023 |work=505th Command and Control Wing News|date=17 October 2022 |archive-date=7 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807193029/https://www.505ccw.acc.af.mil/News/Article/3190974/maker-runs-towards-greatness/ |url-status=live }}
}}
}}
Guor Mading Maker (born 15 April 1984), also known as Guor Marial,{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/33753404 |title=One year to Rio 2016: Five global athletes' Olympic odysseys |last1=Reynolds |first1=Tom |last2=Sliney |first2=Noel |last3=Wright |first3=Katie |date=4 August 2015 |website=bbc.co.uk |access-date=4 August 2015 |archive-date=4 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804170814/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/33753404 |url-status=live }} is a South Sudanese Olympic track and field athlete. He is a Dinka tribesman.
Maker competed in the men's marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Due to the civil war that saw South Sudan split from Sudan, he has refused to compete under the flag of the latter, stating, "It would be betraying my people". He was one of four athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics under the Olympic flag rather than that of an individual country.{{cite news |title=London 2012 Olympics: South Sudan's Guor Marial allowed to compete under Olympic flag in London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9417428/London-2012-Olympics-South-Sudans-Guor-Marial-allowed-to-compete-under-Olympic-flag-in-London.html |publisher=The Telegraph |accessdate=21 July 2012 |date=21 July 2012 |archive-date=22 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722095838/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/9417428/London-2012-Olympics-South-Sudans-Guor-Marial-allowed-to-compete-under-Olympic-flag-in-London.html |url-status=live }}
Maker competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics for South Sudan, the country's first appearance at an Olympic Games.
Early life
Maker left home at the age of seven to live with his uncle in northern Sudan. In 1994, at the age of nine, he fled from a refugee camp during the Sudanese Civil War.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/19225751 |title=BBC Sport – Olympic marathon: Guor Marial, running for the world |publisher=BBC News |date=2012-07-23 |accessdate=2012-08-12 |archive-date=2012-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812082113/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/19225751 |url-status=live }} While 28 members of his family were killed during the conflict, he was able to escape to Egypt, and then permanently to the United States.{{cite news |title=Guor Marial: An Olympian without a country |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-la-la-sp-on-guor-marial-olympics-20120721,0,7071095.story |publisher=The Chicago Tribune |accessdate=28 July 2012 |archive-date=25 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725133112/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-la-la-sp-on-guor-marial-olympics-20120721,0,7071095.story |url-status=dead }} He was granted refugee status by the United States when he was 16. Though his parents survived the civil war, at the time of the 2012 Olympics, he had not seen them in 20 years.{{cite news |title=Olympian without a country won't march in opening ceremony |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/story/2012-07-26/London-Olympics-Mike-Lopresti-Guor-Marial/56522722/1 |publisher=USA Today |accessdate=28 July 2012 |date=27 July 2012 |archive-date=27 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727165143/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/story/2012-07-26/London-Olympics-Mike-Lopresti-Guor-Marial/56522722/1 |url-status=live }} However, he returned to South Sudan in 2013 and was reunited with his parents. Eight of his brothers and sisters were killed in the war.{{cite news |title=Guor Marial: Marathon Runner Flees Sudan, Heads to London Olympics |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joshua-kors/guor-marial-marathon-runn_b_1693767.html |publisher=Huffington Post |accessdate=28 July 2012 |first=Joshua |last=Kors |date=23 July 2012 |archive-date=27 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727051111/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joshua-kors/guor-marial-marathon-runn_b_1693767.html |url-status=live }}
He began participating in track and field while attending high school in Concord, New Hampshire,{{Cite web|url=https://www.concordmonitor.com/|title=Concord Monitor|website=www.concordmonitor.com|access-date=2024-01-17|archive-date=2024-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117142821/https://www.concordmonitor.com/|url-status=live}} after being encouraged by his gym teacher. He also competed in college at Iowa State, where he was an All-American athlete.
2012 Summer Olympics
Marial fulfilled the A-qualification standard for the marathon in October 2011, allowing him to participate in the Olympic marathon event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. His case was called "unique" by the IOC,[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/guor-marial-is-a-marathoner-without-a-country-running-under-the-olympic-flag/2012/08/10/684df5f2-e322-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html Guor Marial is a marathoner without a country, running under the Olympic flag]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Washington Post, August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012 as prior to the games, South Sudan had yet to form a National Olympic Committee and seek full recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would have allowed them to send a team and compete under the flag of South Sudan.
Marial holds permanent resident status in the United States, but not citizenship. According to his interview in Runner's World, he applied for naturalization to become a U.S. citizen in 2011 and had his naturalization interview, but his application remains pending: "Technically, I was supposed to be a citizen last June, because I did everything, I did my citizen test, I did my interview, I did my fingerprint, and everything was all set. All I needed to do was go to their office and get my passport and do the ceremony. That was in June 2011, but there has been a security background check...and that's what took everything longer."[http://olympics.runnersworld.com/2012/for-south-sudan-runner-country-comes-before-olympics/ For South Sudan Runner, Country Comes Before Olympics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823140637/http://olympics.runnersworld.com/2012/for-south-sudan-runner-country-comes-before-olympics/ |date=2012-08-23 }}, Runner's World, July 20, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2012
The National Olympic Committee of Sudan offered to allow Marial to compete as a member of the Sudanese team, but he rejected this offer, saying, "It's not right for me to do that. It's not right for me to represent the country I refuged from."{{cite news |title=For South Sudanese marathoner, Olympics would be the ultimate refuge |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/07/18/for-south-sudanese-marathoner-olympics-would-be-the-ultimate-refuge/ |publisher=Chicago Tribune |access-date=21 July 2012 |date=18 July 2012 |archive-date=22 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722103352/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-18/sports/chi-for-south-sudanese-marathoner-olympics-would-be-the-ultimate-refugee-20120717_1_south-sudan-london-olympic-ioc |url-status=live }} He went on to say, "If I ran for Sudan, I would be betraying my people. I would be dishonoring the two million people who died for our freedom."
The IOC-executive board announced its decision on 20 July to allow Marial to participate as an Independent Olympic Athlete.{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-executive-board-meets-ahead-of-london-games/168640 |title=IOC Executive Board meets ahead of London Games |publisher=Olympic.org |accessdate=22 July 2012 |archive-date=28 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728233441/http://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-executive-board-meets-ahead-of-london-games/168640 |url-status=live }} However, his travel documentation did not reach him in time, and so he could not march in the opening ceremony on 27 July.
Marial finished 47th in the marathon, with a time of 2:19:32.{{cite web |url=http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/men-marathon/index.html?v=20120812-134414552 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128053356/http://www.london2012.com/athletics/event/men-marathon/index.html?v=20120812-134414552 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 28, 2013 |title=Men's Marathon – Olympic Athletics, London 2012 |publisher=London 2012 |accessdate=January 20, 2013}} His personal best is 2:12:55.
In 2013, Marial became a US citizen.{{cite web|url=https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20842075/lost-boy-and-2-12-marathoner-guor-marial-to-become-u-s-citizen/|title='Lost Boy' and 2:12 Marathoner Guor Marial To Become U.S. Citizen|work=Runners World|date=February 11, 2013|access-date=November 22, 2023|archive-date=November 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122213049/https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a20842075/lost-boy-and-2-12-marathoner-guor-marial-to-become-u-s-citizen/|url-status=live}} He competed at the 2012 Olympics using his adopted name of Marial, which was the surname of his uncle. However, he has since reverted to his birth name.
2016 Summer Olympics
Marial was selected for the 2016 Olympic Games in the marathon. At the opening ceremony, he was the flag-bearer for South Sudan.{{Cite web|last=Service|first=Tribune News|title=From refugee to Olympian: The inspirational story of South Sudan's marathon man|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/sports/from-refugee-to-olympian-the-inspirational-story-of-south-sudans-marathon-man-100900|access-date=2020-12-27|website=Tribuneindia News Service|language=en}}
He finished with a season-best of 2:22:45, coming 81st overall.{{Cite web|date=2020-11-14|title=Rio 2016 Marathon men – Olympic Athletics|url=https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/athletics/marathon-men|access-date=2020-12-27|website=International Olympic Committee|language=en|archive-date=2017-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103170013/https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/athletics/marathon-men|url-status=live}}
Military career
Maker became an Airman in the United States Air Force on 2 February 2018.{{Cite news |url=http://www.jbsa.mil/News/News/Article/1449043/former-slave-two-time-olympian-becomes-an-airman/ |title=Former slave, two-time Olympian becomes an Airman |work=Joint Base San Antonio |access-date=2018-02-24 |language=en-US |archive-date=2018-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225014619/http://www.jbsa.mil/News/News/Article/1449043/former-slave-two-time-olympian-becomes-an-airman/ |url-status=live }} He was selected for the United States Air Force World Class Athlete Program.{{Cite web|title=Airman 1st Class Guor Maker|url=https://www.afimsc.af.mil/Units/Air-Force-Services-Center/WCAP/Maker/|website=United States Air Force World Class Athlete Program|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521090438/https://www.afimsc.af.mil/Units/Air-Force-Services-Center/WCAP/Maker/|archive-date=21 May 2020|access-date=21 May 2020}} He is currently a dental technician with the 21st Dental Squadron.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-17 |title=Maker runs towards greatness |url=https://www.505ccw.acc.af.mil/News/Article/3190974/maker-runs-towards-greatness/https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/News/Display/Article/3190974/maker-runs-towards-greatness/ |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=505th Command and Control Wing |language=en-US }}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{sports links}}
- {{Cite web |url=https://www.rio2016.com/en/athlete/guor-marial |title=Guor Marial at Rio2016.com (official 2016 Olympics website) |access-date=2018-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826083326/https://www.rio2016.com/en/athlete/guor-marial |archive-date=2016-08-26 |url-status=dead }}
- {{Sports-Reference|ma/guor-marial-1}}
{{Authority control}}
{{S-start}}
{{s-sports|oly}}
{{succession box
| before = First
| title = Flagbearer for {{SSD}}
| years = 2016 Rio de Janeiro
| after = Lucia Moris
}}
{{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marial, Guor}}
Category:South Sudanese male athletes
Category:South Sudanese male marathon runners
Category:American male marathon runners
Category:Olympic athletes for South Sudan
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Category:Independent Olympic Athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Category:Iowa State University alumni
Category:People from Unity (state)
Category:United States Air Force World Class Athlete Program