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BERKELEY, Calif. — Ziyad Saleem took his spot at the top of the podium with a backstroke gold medal for Sudan at the African Championships and cherished hearing the anthem of his parents' homeland play. Next, the University of California swimmer who trains regularly with decorated U.S. Olympian Ryan Murphy will represent Sudan at the Paris Olympics and it will mean the world to his entire family — most of whom have left Sudan because of war and a humanitarian crisis. Murphy says "Ziyad is awesome, one of the nicest guys I've trained with at Cal."
