In former rebel camp, Somali athletes eye London

MOGADISHU - Training in a bullet-riddled stadium where the remains of a rocket propelled grenade lies discarded on the track's edge counts as progress for Somali Olympic hopeful Mohamed Hassan Mohamed.

A year ago, Mogadishu's Konis stadium was a base for Islamist militants and a work out meant at times running through the streets, dodging gun-fire and mortar shells in one of the world's most dangerous cities.

"It's easier for us to train now," said Mohamed.

Somali athlete Abdullah Bare Kuulow prays after a training session as part of their preparations for the 2012 London Olympic Games inside the stadium in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, March 16, 2012 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

It is a staggering understatement from the 22-year-old, one of four Somali athletes vying for the two slots guaranteed for Somalia at the London games.

For 20 years the capital's rutted roads were the frontline in running battles between feuding warlords and later Islamist insurgents fighting to overthrow a government propped up by foreign forces and cash.

The Konis stadium served as an al Shabaab rebel training camp until the al-Qaida-linked combatants fled the capital in August last year. Bullet holes pepper the stadium's concrete stands, which lie in mounds of rubble in places.

Progress, however, is relative. Somalia's Olympic bid is run on a shoestring. There are no dedicated personal trainers, physiotherapists or nutritionists.

"Our facilities are poor. We don't have a modern training camp or a modern gym. We should replace our running shoes frequently. Instead, we wash them," said Mohamed.

Olympic chief killed

For now, the 1,500 meter specialist trains in relative safety, unless the security forces block off the surrounding area in advance of a government delegation on the move, forcing the athletes back onto the streets.    

That means competing for space with patrolling armoured troop carriers, donkey carts and mountainous piles of garbage. Roadside bombs have become a growing danger.

Somali athletes run in front of a convoy of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) along a street as they train during preparations for the 2012 London Olympic Games in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, in this March 14, 2012 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

In April, a suicide bomber blew herself up at a ceremony in the city's national theatre, killing the popular head of Somalia's Olympic committee and at least five others.

"The theatre blast was a painful incident. It was a shocking day," Mohamed said.

Somalia has never won a medal at the Olympic games.

Its best performance was in 1996 when its most renowned athlete, Abdi Bile, took sixth place in the 1,500 meters in Atlanta.

At the time, militia fighters in the lawless capital dubbed their machine gun-mounted pickup trucks "Abdi Biles" in a typically Somali mark of respect for the runner's power and speed.

Somalia is not expected to announce the names of the two athletes who will compete in London until later this month. Unveiling their identities earlier might endanger their lives in a country plagued by kidnappings and targeted killings.