“I’m grateful for the opportunity to show the world that Palestine is strong and resilient.”
Born and raised in Illinois in the USA, Valerie Tarazi has said she “couldn’t be prouder” to be representing Palestine at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“I always wanted to represent Palestine,” the 25-year-old swimmer stated in a video shared by the Palestine Olympic Committee.
“I did not choose to leave, my grandfather did not choose to leave Gaza, we were simply kicked out and we could not return.”
Palestinian swimmer Valerie Tarazi responds to those who claim that she is not Palestinian. pic.twitter.com/7CA7Iy9rbJ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) August 3, 2024
“This had been a very long process for me because my family is from Gaza, and proving that you have property in Gaza or proving that you’re a citizen or my grandfather was a citizen of Gaza is not easy to do, especially because he passed away when I was very young,” she explained.
“So, that was really difficult, but I have always wanted to come back to my roots and honor my family.”
A six-time Arab Swimming Champion, Valerie was conferred Palestine’s National Medal of Honor and Freedom by the Palestinian government in 2023, reportedly given to individuals outside Palestine who are advocating for peace within the country.
‘An Identity’
Tarazi, who started swimming at the age of three and became “super serious” about it at age 12, said in a media interview that “I strive to represent Palestine every single day of my life. I train at my university and I wear a flag on my cap every single day.”
Eight athletes are representing Palestine in the Olympics this year in sports such as boxing, judo, swimming, shooting, track and field, and taekwondo.
The swimmer, who was also Palestine’s flagbearer at the Olympics Opening Ceremony, said sports have “given us an identity, it’s given us something greater than ourselves, a greater purpose.”
According to the Palestine Olympic Committee, over 300 athletes, referees and sports officials have been killed since the start of the war on October 7.
Additionally, many sports facilities and infrastructure in Gaza were demolished by Israeli occupation forces.
Deaths of Athletes
Tarazi recalled in another media interview how the news of a fellow Palestinian athlete and good friend of hers, who was killed in a bombing in Gaza affected her.
After the call, she had to go practice and “I cried on the pool deck that day.”
She said her coach told her “It’s all the more reason to train harder, make the Olympics, and raise the flag, and luckily he is one person, like one of the people that I’m raising the flag for this week.”
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Tarazi said she and her team are affected by the situation in Gaza “every single day”.
“We think about it every time we train, every time we compete, every time we raise the flag, and we do it for those people.”
‘Greater Than Myself’
Last month, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland to demand that Israel be barred from competing at the 2024 Olympic Games amid the ongoing genocidal assault on Gaza, to no avail.
Tarazi feels that raising the Palestinian flag is not just a celebration of her achievements in swimming, but “I’m representing a people that is far greater than myself, and I always knew that.”
Having qualified for the 2016 Olympic swimming trials at age 16, Valeri also has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management.
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Tarazi won two gold, three silver, and one bronze medal, at the 2023 Arab Games in Algeria, reportedly making her the highest-yielding medalist in the games.
On Saturday, Valerie posted on her Instagram page that she was “thrilled to share that I set a new national record and achieved a personal best time, becoming the fastest Arab woman to ever compete in the 200 IM at the Olympic Games!”
“And above all, I’m grateful for the opportunity to show the world that Palestine is strong and resilient.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
She’s awesome!