On August 20, 2008, Nader Almassri of Palestine finished the first-round heat of the men's 5,000m in 14 minutes, 41.10 seconds at the National Stadium of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"Participating in the Beijing Olympics has always been a dream of mine. I have been practicing very hard for it, and today, this dream will come true," said the 28-year-old before the heat.

Strictly speaking, his performance, the second to last among 39 runners, was far from satisfying. But his presence was worth noticing.

The married father of three lived in the town of Beit Hanun in northern Gaza, where Israel had carried out several raids and air strikes aimed at halting rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian militants.

Four times a week Almassri would run 14 km from his village to the Yarmuk Stadium in Gaza City, past bullet-shredded buildings and rubbish-strewn streets, pivoting around donkey carts and microbuses.

To reach the Beijing Olympics, Almassri had to win all the national competitions held since the 2004 Athens Olympics, as a requirement of the Palestinian Athletics Federation. With this goal in mind, he kept training hard. But the unrest in the Gaza Strip hampered his journey to the Olympics.

"I came to Jericho because I cannot train in Gaza with the political circumstances there. It's very hard to train with the daily firing of rockets and missiles," he noted.

Four months ahead of the Olympics, Almassri managed to leave Gaza for Jericho to continue his training.

"It is a pity that we Palestinians are blocked from the outside world. But anyway, I am here for the Olympics at last. I dreamt of it over and over in the past four years. I think the Beijing Olympics could be the most wonderful one in Olympic history," he stated.

Four athletes from Palestine showed up at the Beijing Olympics, two in track and field and two in swimming. Almassri said that although Palestinian athletes might not compete with the top athletes, they would enjoy just taking part in the Games.

He said he might become a marathon runner after the Beijing Olympics, since he was at the peak age for marathon running. If he could pass the qualification competition as a marathon runner, he would probably continue his Olympic dream in London four years from now.

Profile of Nader Almassari

Date of Birth: Jan. 26, 1980

Height (cm/ft in): 160cm / 5'3"

Weight (kg/lbs): 58 kg / 128 lbs

Place of Birth: Palestine

Residence: Palestine

Sport: Athletics

Event: Men's 5,000m

(Compiled from AFP, CRI and BOCOG)