Umar Saeed, a 34-year-old design engineer from Pakistan living in the United States, has his eyes set on representing the homeland as a running athlete.
Several Pakistani athletes, who reside overseas, have been given opportunities to showcase their talents in the national football and baseball teams.
This has made space for other individuals like Saeed, who is full of potential, to showcase their prowess and contribute to Pakistan’s representation internationally.
Hailing from Punjab’s Gujarat, Saeed also has similar ambition. His incredible achievement in a marathon held in the US has gained him the attention of Pakistan’s running community. Saeed concluded the prescribed distance in an impressive time of two hours, 22 minutes, and 41 seconds, an exceptional feat within the elite standards of running.
The record for a full marathon in Pakistan is two hours and 14 minutes, which was made by Naseer Ahmed in 2003, but only once in the last 10 years has it happened that an athlete completed it in less than two hours and 22 minutes. Israr, a Pakistani athlete, completed the feat in 2015.
Umar, said he had been fond of running since his school days and broke several records at the school level. He ran during his university days, too, and was also a state champion.
The athlete, who has been regularly training for a marathon for the past three years, said the way foreign players are getting opportunities to represent Pakistan in football and other sports has also given him encouragement to participate.
“Those who come from abroad for training can not only bring success to Pakistan, but also play a role in improving the game of young players,” he said.
Responding to a question, the athlete said it would be an honour for him to represent Pakistan. “If I get an opportunity to represent Pakistan athletics, it will be a great honour for me. I will try to use my training and understanding of marathons to make Pakistan shine.”
Umar said he wished that the Athletics Federation of Pakistan would give him an opportunity, so he could use his experience to take the country’s name forward.
He added that his short-term goal is to qualify for the Olympics, while he wants to bring young athletes towards running athletics in the long run.
To qualify for the Olympics, Umar must complete his marathon race in at least two hours and eight minutes. He is hopeful of surpassing this milestone with the help of intense training.
