From breaking world records at the age of 13 to severe back injuries at 15, Saudi pole vaulter Hussain Al-Hizam has sacrificed most of his childhood to win medals for his country.
Through every setback, Al-Hizam, 25, has grown more committed to pole vaulting and is determined to make up for lost time after two career-threatening injuries and missing out on Tokyo 2020.
Born and raised in the Kingdom, the Jubail local started in the event when he was just 8 years old. He was encouraged by his father — former decathlete and current decathlon coach Asim Al-Hizam — to pursue a path in track and field.
He tried his hand at many sports from a young age, but pole vaulting was where he excelled. Al-Hizam left home when he was just 11 to train and compete around the world, breaking numerous world records from the age of 13.
Things would go wrong for him at 15 when he was struck down by a back injury while competing in Germany. Al-Hizam missed the pit and fell from a height of 5 meters onto the concrete surface.
Prince Nawaf Al-Saud, then-president of the Saudi Arabia Track and Field Federation, had the 15-year-old sent to Los Angeles for treatment.
“I am super fortunate to have the support system that I have, my dad has played a huge role in my career, and he has made everything happen for me,” Al-Hizam said. “The Saudi Track and Field Federation with the help of Prince Nawaf has fully supported me all these years and as a student I was also privileged to receive full scholarship support from my government for university.”
Al-Hizam went on to train for the next 18 months at the University of California, Los Angeles. He then enrolled at the University of Kansas where he achieved the highest level of success in college athletics by winning the indoor National Collegiate Athletic Association title in 2018.
Other early international success included second place at the 2013 Arab Championships, first at the 2013 Asian Youth Games, and fourth in both the 2014 Youth Olympic Games and 2014 Asian Junior Championships.
As an adult he came first at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, first at the 2021 Arab Championships, and second at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games. He also won gold at the 2023 Asian Indoor Championships in Kazakhstan, and achieved a commendable 14th at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the US.
However, sporting greatness comes at a cost, and Al-Hizam has missed out on most of his childhood competing and training abroad.
“Growing up in Saudi and then leaving all my friends and family to travel to Europe and train at the age of 11, really wasn’t my favorite thing to do,” he said. “I couldn’t communicate with Europeans, the language barrier kept me from connecting with people, I was quite isolated. So, when I moved to LA (Los Angeles), because I spoke English, I was finally able to make a life.
“In Europe it was more just training, it was all I could do, it wasn’t an ideal situation for a kid. It wasn’t until I moved to the US where I got some balance in my life, making friends with other kids but due to the distance I rarely went home, maybe three times in seven years.”
Al-Hizam has based himself in Italy this year and tries to fly home when he can. One of the major sacrifices made over the last 13 years is being away from his family and is the key indicator of how serious he is about reaching the pinnacle of this sport, which is an Olympic medal.
Al-Hizam has three major events left this year to get him to Paris 2024. This is the Asian Championships in Thailand next week, the World Championships in Budapest next month and — the major Olympic-qualifying event — the Asian Games in China in September.
Even with all his achievements from the age of 9, Al-Hizam sees getting to the Olympics as only the first step — a medal in Paris would be his ultimate athletic goal. And although he has overcome some major obstacles in the last 10 years, he is most proud of the person he has become through this sport.
“It is tough, even until this day, from being at a place in 2019 when I had such momentum and was at a world level, ready to go pro; to then break my ankle,” he said of his second major injury.
“I had to dig deep to find my way back, you must do whatever it takes mentally, physically and emotionally to get stronger than you were before. It is about finding your way back. My motto now is any challenge you go through, is an opportunity to grow.”
“I don’t have one moment that I am particularly proud of, as I am more proud of the person I have become from this sport,” Al-Hizam added. “I see people that I have known from a while ago going to their 9-to-5 jobs and feeling stuck. Whereas I am doing the thing I love every day, and the feeling of freedom that comes with doing that, most days when I wake up, I know why I am waking up and why I am going to work. I love that feeling.”