Yahya Al Ghotany was just 12 years old when he had a moment that helped change his life forever and brought him to the Paris Olympic Games as part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Refugee Olympic Team.
Yahya and his family were living in a refugee camp after escaping the conflict in their home country Syria, where he saw taekwondo in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games on TV and decided at that moment to take up the sport. He explained that there were around 40,000 displaced Syrians in the camp and “things were really limited.”
“I felt like taekwondo was a new challenge, something that could fill the space that I was missing.”
Fortunately, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation organized a “small space in the camp, so I registered. Then I found that I really loved it, and I really could be something,” he recalled.
The athlete is now 20 years old and has progressed from a white belt to a black belt third dan. “Once I set a goal, I go for it, never stop. It’s about being disciplined and never holding back. If I start something, I will finish it,” he explained, adding he was not surprised to be named in the 37-person Refugee Team.
“It was, of course, an amazing emotion but not a surprise; it was something I expected, because of my hard work,” Yahya said in an interview with the official Games website, adding that he trains in three sessions every day.
“Taekwondo means everything to me and it changed my whole life. I discovered new things about myself, not only as an athlete but as a human as well, it made me think about the future and not limited thinking as I used to have before. Now, I feel like I have a healthier way of living and thinking,” he said.
In Paris, Yahya insists, “The last thing on my mind will be winning or losing. I will go out there, put all that I’ve worked on and perform my best.”