Iraqi rower charts course from Tigris to international competition

Growing up on the banks of the river inspired Mohammed Riyadh to take up the sport

Mohammed Riyadh skims across the Tigris River in Baghdad with hypnotic rhythm. The sound of his oars dipping and lifting and his narrow racing shell cutting through the water is almost sacred to him, like a whispered prayer to the river by which he was raised.

“Rowing is not just a race; it’s a source of motivation, ambition, achievement and a way to bring honour to the country,” Mr Riyadh, 30, told The National.

He moves with the grace of someone who belongs to the water rather than land. He is always on the river, rowing upstream and chasing a dream seeded in the river's soft banks. His journey in rowing began as a child growing up on Baghdad's Haifa Street, which runs alongside the Tigris as it flows through the Iraqi capital.

“As our house was close to the riverbank, I used to watch players practising this sport,” he recalls, sitting by the river. “I was young at the time, and I had a passion and love for rowing, so I began practising in the junior category, then moved on to the youth and senior levels."

That passion and the dream of winning honours has propelled him to Olympic levels. Mr Riyadh is now one of about 25 competitive rowers in Iraq, fighting to bring visibility to a sport in the shadow of football stadiums and weightlifting gyms.

He began making waves in the sport from an early age, achieving a podium finish at the 2013 Asian Rowing Championships in Lu'an, China. He also qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016 and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, competing in the single sculls category. He was given the honour of being the flag-bearer for the Iraqi contingent at the 2020 Games, alongside shooter Fatimah Abbas.

At the Asian Rowing Championships in Uzbekistan last year, Mr Riyadh won gold in the light singles category and silver in the heavy doubles, together with his compatriot Bakr Shehab. “I achieved several world rankings, surpassing many world champions” he says. His drive to compete at the highest levels has earned accolades and inspired a younger generation of Iraqi rowers. But it is not without challenges.

“Rowing is extremely difficult because of the waves, strong winds − and there is no dedicated training facility,” he says. “The joy of winning is greater that anything else as it comes after all the hard work, sleepless nights, weight loss, morning and night training sessions, and the tough conditions we go through.”