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Gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas performs gymnastic moves near damaged buildings in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria March 26, 2016. As Syrian gymnast Ahmad al-Sawas watched his country fall apart, his Olympic dream collapsed too. The last national champion before the fighting began, he knew that supporting the anti-government side in the five-year-old civil war would prevent him from being selected for the Rio Games. “I chose to be an athlete who participates in the revolution”, said Ahmad, who trains where he can for two hours a day – be it on a mattress on a soccer field, in a local hall or somersaulting off a wall. “I know that might cost me my future athletic career, I understand that very well”. Syria's Olympic Committee is sending seven athletes to compete in Rio this month, in athletics, swimming, judo, table tennis and weightlifting. That the committee is run out of Damascus by the government of President Bashar al-Assad has effectively ruled out anyone who lives in rebel-held areas, including the Bustan al-Qasr district of Aleppo where 19-year-old Ahmad makes a living selling and repairing electronic equipment in his father's shop. Syria's most populous city before the war, Aleppo has been divided between government-controlled and rebel-held zones throughout the conflict, which has killed well over 250,000 people. (Photo by Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters)
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