LIFTING A NATION’S DREAMS

At just 21, Malik Faed has a weight on his shoulders, but the youngster is confident he can become a national hero.

Faed has become one of Jordan’s top weightlifters, a sport that flows through the veins of his family with his father, grandfather and brother all making a name for themselves.

But Faed believes he can reach the pinnacle of his sport with a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics firmly on his radar. “I learned so much from my family members in this sport,” he said.

“I saw the sacrifices they made and the pain they went through to be as good as they could. It has prepared me well.” Many people told Faed not to pursue his dream of becoming a weightlifter but he ignored them all and it is starting to pay dividends.

"People were telling me not to follow in their footsteps but I felt like the sport is a part of me and I had to succeed.

" Soon after taking up the sport at the age of 14, Faed won bronze in the 2012 Arab Championships in Morocco.

"I was nervous, but so proud of myself at the same time,” he recalled.

“It gave me the confidence to carry on in this sport. Lifting for Jordan is a dream come true."

His ambitions are clear, a place in Tokyo and becoming the first qualified weightlifter to represent Jordan at the Olympics.

"I will do whatever it takes to be there. In Rio I was 19 and I felt that it's a place where I belong so I decided the that I will fight for my place in Tokyo 2020."

His recent silvers at the Arab Afro Championship proved that he is in the form of his life and he said the training will be “hard” until the day he is on the Olympic stage.