On a sun-soaked May day in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wais Khairandesh toed the starting line to compete at the national track and field championships at Ghazi Stadium. Barbed wire lined the fence outside of lane eight, a harsh reminder of years past when the stadium was used by the Taliban for public executions. Most of the seats in the stadium were empty with the exception of a handful of fans near the homestretch, but Wais didn’t care. 

 

The competition marked the first time the Afghan-born runner had returned to his native country since his family’s house was bombed by the Taliban.

 

The gun went off and Wais jumped to the front pack with a confident, long stride. By 400m, Wais was 50 meters ahead of the field and maintaining pace. Each step and every breath brought him closer to a victory that would help his chances of being selected to represent Afghanistan at the World Championships in Beijing. 

 

The national record-holder at 800m, Wais was the favorite to win the race. With a 1:55.91 personal best to his name, he is the fastest middle distance runner to come from Afghanistan and the best candidate to represent the country at Worlds. 

 

Wearing a singlet with the country’s national flag colors, Wais flew through the finish line victorious, and with a sigh of relief as fans cheered his name. He had just won Afghanistan’s track and field championships outright, and was one step closer to competing in Beijing. 

 

Or so he thought. 

 

 

According to the IAAF World Championship qualifying standards, individual athletes can qualify by achieving the IAAF Standard mark (1:46.00 for men’s 800m), based on finishing position at designated competitions, by wild card, or as a result of being one of the best ranked athletes at the end of the qualification period to fill the remaining places in the field. Unqualified athletes, like Wais, can still participate subject to certain conditions. According to the IAAF guidelines, the “Area Champion automatically qualifies for the World Championships, irrespective of whether his performance has reached the Entry Standard,” and the member federation has the ultimate authority to enter the athlete based on its own qualification system. 

 

Although Wais won both the 1500m and 800m at Afghanistan’s national championships in May, his selection to represent Afghanistan at the World Championships is uncertain at this point. The competition begins August 22, and Afghanistan’s track and field federation has told Wais that he must improve his personal best of 1:55 by at least two seconds in order to be considered. 

 

It is an opportunity that Wais has chosen to attempt at the FloTrack Throwdown against a field that includes Olympic finalist Duane Solomon and World Championships qualifier Cas Loxsom. Both have personal bests of 1:42.84 and 1:44.92, respectively.

 

Although Wais’ personal best is over 10 seconds slower than his competitors, he is determined to accomplish his goal.

 

“Their times are a lot better than mine, but I can’t focus on what they’ve done. I definitely respect everything that they’ve done, but I can’t focus on just running under their shadows because I’m sure one day their PRs were 1:55,” Wais said.

 

Running Dreams

 

Wais’ running career began during his sophomore year while attending Catalina High School in Tucson, Arizona. Under the guidance of coach Nick Varner, Wais was a member of the runner-up state cross country championship squad. He continued to run while attending both the University of Arizona and Pima Community College simultaneously while in a dual enrollment program. He competed on the Pima team, but suffered injuries on and off for several years. Wais eventually graduated from Northern Arizona University and enrolled in a graduate program at Adler University in Chicago to study psychology. 

 

He completed a semester and a half at Adler before deciding to pursue running full-time with the hope of qualifying for Afghanistan’s world championship team. In order to accomplish his goal, Wais moved back to Arizona, got a part-time job at Home Depot to help pay for expenses, and enlisted the help of Varner to help get him get there.

 

Despite being in retirement and now living above Silver City, New Mexico, Varner agreed to help Wais by coaching him from afar.  

 

“I had retired from coaching and teaching, but I just liked him so much and his family that I just figured it was a good thing for me to do. I’m not charging Wais for coaching other than asking for his mother’s Afghan recipes [laughs],” Varner said. 

 

Varner coached at Catalina High School for 11 years, and Pima Community College before that, where he helped guide four-time U.S. Olympian Abdi Abdirahman to two Arizona state junior college titles. 

 

Today, Varner coaches Wais through email and over the phone in order to help him achieve his goal.

 

“I like the family so much and I respect what Wais is trying to do. It’s a difficult task, he has a really hard way to go. He’s working, trying to do intense training at the same time and I figured he needed some help and I was the one available to do it, so I agreed,” Varner explained. 

 

“And I’m really happy I did. He’s given me at least as much as I’ve given him as a coach. He’s a very good young man to work with. He does everything you tell him,” Varner said. 

 

A Family of Refugees

 

Varner met Wais’ family while coaching him and his brother Qais after the Khairandesh family moved from Pakistan to the United States. When Wais was just six years old, a nearby bomb set off by the Taliban caused remnants of shrapnel to fly into their house and rip through the home’s gas supply, causing an explosion that killed his father Abduljafer. His mother Laila was left as a widow with four children. 

 

The family moved to Pakistan in 1999 and applied for refugee status to come to the United States. They were supposed to arrive in 2001, but the events of 9/11 forced the family to wait a year later until they finally arrived in Arizona in 2002. 

 

16 years after leaving Afghanistan, Wais wants to represent his native country that his family was forced to leave behind. 

Wais on the podium at the Afghanistan national championships.
 

“One thing I always think about is that I can’t forget about where I came from, although all my experiences in the United States have attributed a lot more to my success, I still can’t forget about where I came from, despite the events that took place,” Wais said. 

 

Afghanistan doesn’t have a strong track and field history. In fact, the country has only sent two track and field athletes total in the last four Olympic Games. Notably, Tamina Kohistani competed in the 100m at the 2012 London Games and was the first woman to represent Afghanistan in the country’s history. For the past three Olympics, 100m sprinter Masoud Azizi was the only male track athlete to represent Afghanistan, and most recently failed a doping test taken at the 2013 World Championships. He was suspended for two years. 

 

If selected by the federation, Wais could potentially become the first 800m runner to represent Afghanistan in many years. Despite the painful history associated with his native country, Wais is determined to wear the black, red and green proudly while toeing the line in Beijing. 

 

“I love Afghanistan and despite the dangers, I was so happy to walk the streets of my own country,” Wais said. “You have to go back there and contribute to the community that claims you.”

UPDATE: Wais received word on Wednesday August 12 that he was selected to represent Afghanistan in the 800m at the World Championships in Beijing. 

Watch Wais' 1500m race at the 2015 Afghanistan National Championships: