'I feel like a dream': Syrian refugee competes at Canada Summer Games for Team Manitoba
Khaled Aldrar, 17, came to Winnipeg last November
Last November, 17-year-old Khaled Aldrar was landing in Winnipeg and wondering what his new home would be like.
Only 10 months later, the Syrian teenager, who came as a refugee, is a member of Team Manitoba competing at the Canada Summer Games in wrestling.
"It's very difficult to explain what I am feeling but I feel very, very happy," Aldrar said through a translator.
While Adrar is new to the city, he's certainly not new to wrestling. He comes from a wrestling family.
Aldrar's dad was a coach back in Syria and his two younger brothers are also involved in the sport. Aldrar himself has been wrestling since he was seven and competed in Damascus before the war started.
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His talent was quickly spotted by Team Manitoba coach Krzysztof Stasiak when he was wrestling for a different club in Winnipeg.
Stasiak reached out to Aldrar's father and soon they started training together.
"He has a talent for it. It's just like everything else you have to learn," Stasiak said.
Aldrar is taking English classes but Stasiak said there is a bit of a language barrier. But coach and athlete are finding creative ways to work around it.
With his father by his side at the University of Winnipeg, Aldrar will compete in the lightweight division this week at the Games.
Competing under the banner of his new home is a very special experience, Aldrar said.
