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Page last updated at 09:36 GMT, Friday, 3 December 2010

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Iraq's rowing team survive Baghdad bomb blasts

Iraqi rowers Hamza Hussein and Haider Rashid

Iraqi rowers Hamza Hussein (L) and Haider Rashid were last-minute qualifiers for the Beijing Olympics, acquiring a place only after North Korea had declined their invitation to compete.

Hamza Hussein, 34-years-old, was one of four athletes that represented Iraq at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Hamza's partner in Beijing, Haider Rashid, is aged 28. At the 2010 Asian Games he won bronze in the single sculls and is now looking to qualify for London 2012 on his own.

They train on Baghdad's River Tigris, which was part of the front line during the war in 2003 and by 2006, was a dumping ground for victims of sectarian violence

In Beijing, Rashid and Hussein competed in the double sculls, finishing 13th out of 13

Four time Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent knows a thing or two about dedicating one's life to the sport of rowing - he went to Baghdad to meet them

Haider Rashid recently won a bronze medal for Iraq at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China

After Rashid's solo success at the Asian Games, Hamza Hussein is unsure that, at 35, he can qualify for the London Olympics

Haider Rashid is a student and cycles to training most days. Here he wears a specially designed cap

Haider Rashid and Hamza Hussein's coach, who joined them when they trained with the US rowing team in Boston back in October

Haider Rashid takes on some much needed fluids during a training session

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