Lais Najjar (born October 8, 2002) is an American-born Syrian artistic gymnast. He is set to represent Syria at the 2024 Olympic Games.
| Lais Najjar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_146.jpg) Najjar at the 2019 Junior World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Lais Najjar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Syria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 October 2002 Chicago, Illinois, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Ann Arbor, Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior International Elite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2016–present (SYR)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Michigan Wolverines (2022–25) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Yuan Xiao | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal life
editNajjar was born in Chicago, Illinois in 2002 to Chirin Chahkhachiro and Maher Najjar.[2][3] He spent much of his childhood living in Syria while his father, a pulmonologist, traveled back and forth between the two locations. Prior to the start of the Syrian civil war, Najjar and his family moved back to the United States due to more educational opportunities for him and his two sisters.[1]
Gymnastics career
editNajjar competed at the inaugural Junior World Championships; he only competed on floor exercise and vault and did not qualify for any individual event finals.[4]
Najjar made his senior-level debut at the Cairo World Challenge Cup where he won silver on vault behind Nazar Chepurnyi.[5] In 2022 Najjar began competing in NCAA gymnastics for the Michigan Wolverines.[6] Later that year he competed at the Asian Championships, Mediterranean Games and World Championships.
Najjar competed at the 2024 Asian Championships where he placed 17th in the all-around.[7] In late May Najjar was awarded the Tripartite invitation to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.[8]
Competitive history
edit| Year | Event | Team | AA | FX | PH | SR | VT | PB | HB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | |||||||||
| Junior Asian Championships | 17 | ||||||||
| 2019 | |||||||||
| Junior World Championships | 42 | ||||||||
| 2021 | Elite Team Cup | 4 | |||||||
| Cairo World Challenge Cup | 7 |  |
|||||||
| 2022 | NCAA Championships |  |
|||||||
| Asian Championships | 13 | 17 | |||||||
| Mediterranean Games | 19 | 5 | |||||||
| World Championships | 49 | ||||||||
| 2023 | NCAA Championships | |
|||||||
| Asian Championships | 21 | ||||||||
| Arab Games | |
 |
|
|
|
| |||
| 2024 | NCAA Championships | |
|||||||
| Asian Championships | 17 |
References
edit- ^ a b "'You raised our heads': Lais Najjar's journey to the Olympics". The Michigan Daily. June 26, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan Wolverines Profile: Lais Najjar". Michigan Wolverines.
- ^ "FIG Profile: Lais Najjar". International Gymnastics Federation.
- ^ "2019 Junior World Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Hosts Egypt claim two golds, Kovtun thrice golden in Cairo". International Gymnastics Federation. June 8, 2021.
- ^ "Michigan Wolverines Men's Gymnastics 2022 Roster". Michigan Wolverines.
- ^ "2024 Asian Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. May 21, 2024.
- ^ @UMichGym (May 30, 2024). "Paris Bound" (Tweet) – via Twitter.