Leaps and strides: The refugee from a Scottish high-rise tower block turned athlete inspiring others

The triple-jumper from Glasgow is hoping to inspire others from a similar background

From the 17th floor of a high-rise in the west of Glasgow, Miraji Ahmed grew up dreaming beyond the skyline.

The son of African refugees, the 23-year-old was raised in a tower block neighbourhood marked by a quiet resilience and later lived in Castlemilk. But on the athletics track, Mr Ahmed found something powerful - a space where he could define himself on his own terms.

Miraji Ahmed competing in the triple jump as a junior | Contributed

Today, he is a GB-level triple jumper, a community advocate and a rising social entrepreneur- leaping from a life on the margins to compete on the national stage.

Such was his talent as a junior that Mr Ahmed set a Scottish under-17 indoor record in the triple jump at the FPSG National Open in 2018. His effort of 14.12m broke a record that at the time had stood for 28 years.

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Mr Ahmed’s story is one of determination and his success, he insists, didn’t come from luck, but rather from perseverance in a city in which he said he often felt like an outsider.

“I’ve had to fight for who I am, what my name is and what it means,” he says.

It was in primary school, racing in the playground, that Mr Ahmed said a teacher spotted his natural ability. She handed him a flyer for a trial at the Glasgow School of Sport.

“She believed in me,” he says. “I didn’t even know what it meant to take running around more serious … but that flyer changed everything.”

Miraji Ahmed in his Scotland kit | Contributed

By his late teens, Mr Ahmed had earned a scholarship to Lindenwood University in Missouri, United States, studying finance while training in elite US facilities with world-class coaches, and preparing for a future in international athletics.

But his success did not come without strain.

“I was 18, 19, training at the level of a 27-year-old Olympic athlete,” he recalls. “It broke my body down.”

Mr Ahmed reflects on his injuries, which included a torn hamstring, then a ruptured Achilles.

For many it would have meant the end, but Mr Ahmed refused to give up.

Miraji Ahmed's race number | Contributed

“People told me my career was over,” he said. “But I couldn’t let it be. This country had given me a chance and Scotland believed in me- I had to keep going.”

His injuries became a turning point in his philosophy.

“Never quit your mind, never stop believing,” he says. “You must push through the hard times to get to the success.”

Now in his 20s and on the road to recovery, Mr Ahmed has redirected his energy into mentorship and community work aimed at inspiring young people from underrepresented backgrounds through charity outreach and creative expression.

“I am now interacting with young people who are the same colour as me, but they don’t go through any racism, segregation and discrimination that I did,” he says.

Determined to express himself, Mr Ahmed said he was pushing himself to the limits - physically, academically and creatively. “I realise how big the opportunity that I had was, so I just took advantage of it all,” he says.

Mr Ahmed wants to use his success, both on and off the track, to be a role model not just for young athletes, but for a generation of Scots whose heritage spans continents.

The athlete has even launched his own clothing brand EES - short for “ease” - around the idea that hardship can be worn with dignity and reimagined as strength. “What your mind can believe, your body can achieve,” he says.

Miraji Ahmed has launched his own clothing brand | Contributed

After spending a period studying in America, Mr Ahmed decided it was time to return to his roots after the US university cut the funds for track and field. He has returned to Scotland to live in Edinburgh.

“I’m going to take everything I have learned directly to Edinburgh - the capital,” he says “It felt like I was called to be back. I’m so grateful to be here, to live the truth I have been building for myself.”

Though once uncertain of his place in national identity debates, he now embraces his heritage proudly. “Scotland is not just one thing; it’s more than just one identity, it’s just got to be in your heart,” he says.

“I am truly showing what it is like to be a Scottish man. Especially now that I am living in Edinburgh, everything is expressive. The architecture, writers, artists, it is all expression.”

Mr Ahmed’s story comes against the backdrop of Glasgow’s role as a major dispersal area in the UK for asylum seekers - a situation that has led to increased strain on the city's resources, particularly housing.

Glasgow is facing mounting pressure as a surge in asylum decisions leaves hundreds of refugees without stable housing. The UK government’s accelerated asylum process has shortened the notice period for refugees to leave government-provided accommodation from 28 days to as little as seven, forcing many into homelessness almost overnight.

The city expects more than 1,400 new homelessness cases by year’s end, straining an already overstretched system with a housing shortfall of around 1,600 units.

Glasgow City Council warns that without urgent intervention, the crisis could push rough sleeping to record levels and result in a £70 million funding gap for homelessness services.

The local authority is facing a potential legal battle with the Home Office, having told the UK government it wants to pause the city’s role as an asylum dispersal city after reaching “crisis point”.

Against the backdrop of the crisis in his home city, Mr Ahmed’s story offers a quiet counterpoint.

Asked about Glasgow’s role in taking in refugees, the athlete said the city’s most underused asset was not policy or funding, but the people themselves. “Your truth is here,” he says. “You were born with this - rise with it.”