Abdoulie “Buster” Asim, a refugee from Gambia who lived under a Sydney bridge for a week and ate discarded McDonald’s meals pulled from bins, has been cruelly denied the Australian 200-metre sprint title.Abdoulie Assim training at Olympic Park in 2019.Asim came to Australia with the Gambia team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and stayed, fearing for his life from his own family if he returned to his country due to his religion. He is a Christian.
“It means a lot to me because the most reason to me to stay in Australia was to continue my career and [I] just want to run for Australia,” Asim said after winning the race, and before being told he had been disqualified.The disqualification was yet another painful step for the athlete who was forced to sleep rough after coming to Sydney, trying to find a coach and pursue his dream.
He said he slept under a bridge for almost a week before he got help and was taken to Hope Hostel in Parramatta . He stayed there for almost a year before moving out to his own place.
after reading his story, heart wrenching to see him disqualified for stepping out of the lane, hope he gets a chance. he is a fighter for sure.
Let him get into the team please 🙏