In former rebel camp, Somali athletes eye London

Run until you drop

Rarely able to travel to international meets, no Somali athlete qualified for the London Games outright. Each national Olympic committee is eligible for two guaranteed places - one for a man, one for a woman - in athletics.

Somali athletes stretch along a street as they train during preparations for the 2012 London Olympic Games in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, in this March 14, 2012 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

"Pump your arms. Pump your arms with power," urged the Somali team coach, Ahmed Ali Abukar, armed with nothing more than a stopwatch.

"Don't slow up. Keep going until you drop," he yelled as sweat gleamed on Mohamed's sinewy body.

Abukar earns a salary of just $150 a month. That comes out of a $2,000 per month pot from the Somali Olympic Committee (SOC) that pays for the four athletes' accommodation in a renovated school classroom, their food and transport costs.

Kadija Dahir, president of the Somali Athletics Federation, said a request to the SOC for a further $3,500 a month to fund the training of two athletes failed.

"We need money to produce quality athletes," Dahir said. "With that money we wanted to do high altitude training in Ethiopia and buy better clothing and trainers."

Somali athletes run along a street as they train during preparations for the 2012 London Olympic Games in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, in this March 14, 2012 file photo.[Photo/Agencies]

Zamzam Mohamud Farah kneels towards Mecca and prays before taking to the hard-packed dirt track in a pair of heavy trainers, baggy tracksuit bottoms and an orange bandana.

One of two women competing for a wildcard entry, she puts her personal best at around 58 seconds in the 400 meters.

The Women's world record stands at 47.60, a gaping difference that leaves her unlikely to contest a podium finish.

In a fractured country fighting to end 20 years of civil conflict, a medal, though, is hardly the point.

"I would not be going there to win, but for pride," Farah said. "I would be representing my flag, my soil and its people."