Guor Marial

Guor Mading Maker (born 15 April 1984), also known as Guor Marial, is a South Sudanese Olympic track and field athlete. He is a Dinka tribesman.

Maker competed in the men's marathon at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Due to the civil war that saw South Sudan split from Sudan, he has refused to compete under the flag of the latter, stating, "It would be betraying my people". He was one of four athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics under the Olympic flag rather than that of an individual country.

Maker competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics for South Sudan, the country's first appearance at an Olympic Games.

A film has been made of his life called Runner.

Early life Maker left home at the age of seven to live with his uncle in northern Sudan. While 28 members of his family were killed during the conflict, He was granted refugee status by the United States when he was 16. Though his parents survived the civil war, at the time of the 2012 Olympics, he had not seen them in 20 years. However, he returned to South Sudan in 2013 and was reunited with his parents.

He began participating in track and field while attending high school in Concord, New Hampshire, after being encouraged by his gym teacher. as prior to the games, South Sudan had yet to form a National Olympic Committee and seek full recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which would have allowed them to send a team and compete under the flag of South Sudan.

Marial holds permanent resident status in the United States, but not citizenship.

The National Olympic Committee of Sudan offered to allow Marial to compete as a member of the Sudanese team, but he rejected this offer, saying, "It's not right for me to do that. It's not right for me to represent the country I refuged from." He went on to say, "If I ran for Sudan, I would be betraying my people. I would be dishonoring the two million people who died for our freedom." However, his travel documentation did not reach him in time, and so he could not march in the opening ceremony on 27 July. His personal best is 2:12:55. He competed at the 2012 Olympics using his adopted name of Marial, which was the surname of his uncle. However, he has since reverted to his birth name.

He finished with a season-best of 2:22:45, coming 81st overall.

Military career Maker became an airman in the United States Air Force on 2 February 2018. He was selected for the United States Air Force World Class Athlete Program. He is currently a dental technician with the 21st Dental Squadron.