Palestine secures athlete for World Rowing Championships

Mark Gerban
© F Gaglianese

The Palestinian Rowing Federation (PRF) has accepted the bid of American athlete Mark Gerban to represent Palestine at the 2005 World Rowing Championships being held in Gifu, Japan this fall.

Gerban, a half-Jewish, half-Palestinian, American-born rower, is a United States national team triallist and national-level competitor. The 25-year-old has competed at the US Rowing National Championships since 2001 and his accolades include silver and bronze in the lightweight quad, silver in the open quad and gold in the lightweight double.

?We picked him [Mark] because he is Palestinian, he is a rower, and our cooperation with him appears to be fruitful,? says Ghassan Haddad, president of the PRF. ?More importantly, Mark chose himself to embrace and represent his heritage and we look forward to having him onboard. The PRF is grateful to FISA and US Rowing for enthusiastically supporting Mark’s candidacy.?

A story on rowing in Palestine on FISA’s website stimulated Gerban to contact the PRF as Gerban felt strongly about giving something back to his Palestinian roots.

“I grew up not knowing a way to express my Palestinian descent,” says Gerban. “I never considered rowing, but Ghassan convinced me that this was a good way to give back.”

Gerban says his choice has been met with mixed reaction especially as it is unusual to be of both Jewish and Palestinian descent. His mother, a Jewish American, and his father, a Palestinian, met in Israel before deciding to live in the United States.

Born in the United States, Gerban began rowing at high school during his off-season from swimming. He continued rowing at university splitting his sporting time between the swimming and rowing season.

Now Gerban, as well as completing a normal working day, fits in two training sessions of up to three hours long and for the two months prior to the World Champs Gerban will forego his employment to train in Germany under the guidance of Iradj El-Qaqili.

El-Qaqili, the PRF’s director of European affairs, is a former member of the German national rowing team. He has established connections to the rowing community in Germany, through which Gerban will have the opportunity to be coached by Martin Strohmenger, a former coach of the German national team, who has been responsible for many medals at various World Rowing Championships.

As an international rowing competitor, Gerban’s participation for Palestine promotes the existence and activities of the PRF, paving the way for increased support of the PRF’s services for refugee children in Gaza and the mission of increased understanding between the people of the Near East and North America.

?There is a bigger picture here than me, my mixed background and my participation in the championships,? says Gerban. ?The world of sports is a great medium. I want to use this forum to spread the message of unity and hopefully bring the much-needed attention to the aid needed by these programs and children of the Middle East. I am honored to be a part of this team and what it represents.?

Gerban sees rowing as a long term commitment. “Maybe I’ll push for the Beijing Olympics in a single, who knows,” says Gerban although he is hoping to row the lightweight double if he can find a partner.

For more information on the Palestinian Rowing Federation, please visit http://www.palestinerowing.org. 

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