It is hard to imagine what could stop her. Aziza Sbaity is a runner. And she is Lebanese. These two aspects of her identity are inseparable. Born in Liberia to a Liberian mother and a Lebanese father, she moved from one country at war to another as a child. At 10-years-old, she faced racial discrimination by her classmates. Pushing through the hardships only made her stronger and more determined.
Track and field forged her identity
Sport became her greatest source of power. Initially, she played basketball. Later, at 17, she started to focus on track and field. Growing from a girl into a woman, she found her power through sports. After completing her degree in business administration at the Lebanese American University, she started committed to track and field full time. At this point, there is just one goal—to represent Lebanon at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
One Lebanese athlete will make it to the Olympics
Aziza wants to be the one. She has represented Lebanon before, at the 2010 World Junior Championship, two World Indoor Championships in 2014 and 2016, and the World Championships in Beijing in 2015. In 2019, she broke the 100-meter Lebanese record at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. She also holds the 60-meter record, making her the fastest woman in Lebanese history. Now, she wants to make her country proud.
Aziza knows: “The best is gonna go.”
Aziza currently trains at Performance First coached by Georges Assaf.
Directed by: Mark Eid
Produced by: Nasir Atallah and Mark Eid
Original music by: Firas Abou Fakher
