I trained most days after school and went on training trips to Spain and Portugal twice during the summer with him and my group so we spend a lot of time together and he was just as much a friend as a teacher, our trainings were as much about training as talking in the breaks and having fun.
I have had many trainers but Emil was the best by far and was, together with my friends in the training group, my main source of inspiration to keep training hard and competing. Now I have stopped with it anyway as I and most other members of my group moved from Stockholm but we would never have gotten nearly as far without him.
It is very easy to make up an excuse for not doing the last run of the set, like hurting your foot for example. But with a good trainer you don't want to even if you go so far that you feel a little bit of nausea. It was actually more common that he told me to take it a bit easier than that I wanted to.
Emil was a good athlete earlier in his career. He played football in Iraqs highest league. When he came to Sweden he became an athletics trainer. Before training me and my frends he had a pupil that was the best in Europe at 800m for her age. He wasn't just great at motivating, he was a great trainer too, and great in many more ways. I would have liked to visit his funeral but it will take place in Iraq, and I think it's great that he gets it at home.
I have a chill since almost a month back, not very strong but still preventing me from doing more exercise than some pushups. When I can run again I know who I'll dedicate the first time I really try hard to.
Rest in peace Emil.