Two Jordanian athletes seek recognition in world’s toughest races

AMMAN — Unlike team sports where an athlete might dodge behind teammates to eventually emerge victorious, in individual sports contestants solely rely on their physical and mental preparedness, spirit and stamina. 

Two Jordanian long-distance runners, Salameh Al Aqra and Mohammad Al Sweity, proudly raised the Jordanian flag during various local and international races.

Both of them are renowned ultra-marathon runners popular in Morocco and Europe for their achievements and they travelled the globe to represent the Kingdom, where they are not well-known.

They have recently returned from yet another Marathon des Sables (MDS), the toughest footrace in the world, which consists of six extremely difficult stages taking place in the spectacular landscape of the Moroccan desert, with a total distance of 250km.

“It was my tenth participation at MDS where I won second place more than half a dozen times. I finally won the first place in 2012,” Al Aqra said. 

This time Al Aqra was in the fifth place among 1,400 runners from all over the world who dared to take the challenge of the high-profile race. The Jordanian blamed the result on an injury, but he was luckier than Al Sweity, who had a health condition after the forth stage of the race and had to quit.

“When I ran for the first time at MDS in 2006 I got lost and ended up 60 km away from the finish line,” continued Al Aqra. “At one point I was at the 330th place, almost reaching the Algerian border, but I pushed myself and crossed the line at the 33^rd place.”

Nevertheless, the initial setback as well as the second places he continuously won did not discourage Al Aqra to continue with the objective of winning the race.

“In 2012, I completed six stages in an overall time of 19 hours and 59 minutes, which is still the record of this race. No one managed to finish the race in less than 20 hours,” Al Aqra noted.

Sweiti started to seriously compete in races in the late 1990s, at the Desert Cup which is a 170km race between Petra and Wadi Rum.

“The more long distances I managed to conquer, the more addicted to running I became,” Al Sweity said.
“For Al Aqra and myself, the police force opened channels for us to compete at various levels. We first took part in police and military competitions and gradually realised that our results were good enough for the major stage,” Al Sweity added. 
His best results at MDS are 10th place in 2011 and 11th place in 2012. 
“MDS attracts professional and amateur runners from all over the world. In the past years, not more than 900 competitors participated but this year the number reached 1400 runners, “ he said.

“In other words, the race is becoming more demanding and the challenge grows with the increasing number of professional athletes,” Al Sweity said.

The runners have a busy schedule ahead as they will participate in the Otscher Ultra-Marathon in Austria on June 13 and June 14.

“I’ve been running continuously for 35 years,” said Al Aqra,“ and I’d like to convey some of my experience and knowledge to up-and-coming runners who would carry the torch and promote Jordan and its sports abroad.”