Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

WUSF's Wake Up Call

Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Iraqi Boxer Preps for Olympics

NPR | By Scott Simon

Published July 17, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Najah Ali, 24, will be among a dozen or so Iraqi athletes participating in this year's Olympic summer games in Athens. He is a boxer in the "light flyweight" class. His trainer and mentor is a Houston man named Maurice "Termite" Watkins. NPR's Scott Simon talks with both men about their journey to the Olympics.

Tags

US / World

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

See stories by Scott Simon