Kampuchea Elite Player Hamm Can'T Afford To Start Running Shoes.

Ham, the 22 year old, proudly presented his medal from a narrow wooden cabinet, one of which was a gold medal and the other was a bronze medal - the gold medal of the marathon and the five thousand meter bronze medal of the Southeast Asian Games last year.

These honors proved his strength -- one of the best long-distance runners in Southeast Asia.

But in fact, his marathon individual's best result is only 2 hours, 26 minutes and 28 seconds, which is more than 20 minutes slower than the world record.

In August this year, he will be one of the only four athletes from the Kampuchea Olympic Games to participate in the Beijing Olympic marathon.

When interviewed by reporters for the top treatment of the elite, the ham sits on a simple wooden bed with a mosquito net.

Looking around his bedroom, the room was crowded, and several identical beds were close together. The distance between the bed and the bed was only enough for one person to pass.

The room looked very shabby and shabby in the eyes of reporters. But ham said, this is the bedroom where elite athletes in Kampuchea live - a place where you can see the old swimming pool in the Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium.

"Sometimes it's too late. I just need to rest. My teammates are coming back."

He complained.

It may be tolerable if it doesn't need to get up early in the morning, but every day when the sun just rises, he will go to the crowded street to start warm-up training.

Training on the road and people's car race for Hamm, training on the runway is an extravagant hope, because they are often rejected by the local stadium staff as two class citizens, "recently, the stadium gate is locked again, they told me, I have to go to other places to train."

Where else?

Ham had no choice but to train in the crowded streets of Phnom Penh early in the morning, though he knew that this was not the best way for marathon runners to prepare.

"There are too many people around, so I have to slow down and wear them in the crowd."

The excellent athlete said that every day his training was accompanied by motorcycles and pedestrians on the streets of Phnom Penh.

The equipment can't afford a pair of training running shoes, ham and his partner Dandera said, all because of no money.

If track and field is a rich sport, maybe they will not encounter these problems.

In the conversation with Hamm, the lack of sponsorship is the most talked about topic of the athlete who is the greatest hope of Kampuchea Olympic Games.

Ham is from a remote town in Kampuchea. He has eight brothers and sisters, so there is no chance that his family will have enough money to support his training.

And Hamm lives on less than 50 dollars a month (less than 400 yuan). This money is not guaranteed to be trained. It even has great pressure on basic life.

Therefore, ham is not only worried about training, but also can not afford to buy a pair of decent running shoes to worry about.

"A pair of running shoes requires me two months' wages. Where do I get the money?"

No company sponsorship, no state financial support, except shoes, Ham's other equipment has not been available.

Despite all the difficulties, ham is proud to represent Kampuchea in the Olympic Games.

"It's a wonderful thing that I can contribute to my country," he laughs. "No one else can do it - just me."