Gangwon 2024: Jonathan Lourimi on historic bobsleigh medal run for Tunisia: "I never thought this was possible"
Final event of bobsleigh competition at 2024 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) sees slider from North African nation pick up silver.
Bobsleigh
The smile on Jonathan Lourimi's face said it all.
"It's history, my friend," the Tunisian said to Olympics.com after winning men's monobob silver at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on Tuesday (23 January). It is his country's first ever medal at the winter edition of the Youth Olympics.
"I never thought this was possible when I started with this sport one year ago. And now I'm here with a silver medal. It's crazy. And yeah, I'm just going to enjoy the moment," he added.
Tunisia had never sent athletes to a Winter Youth Olympics previously, and their small band of fans and officials in the Republic of Korea certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves when his second place finish was confirmed at the Alpensia Sliding Centre,
"It never happened before, so they are very happy. I'm very happy and yeah, just unbelievable."
Lourimi finished 1.33 seconds behind winner So Kaehwan from the host nation, with Chi Xiangyu (People's Republic of China) taking bronze.
"Today, just the race, I just didn't focus on any medals or any times. I just wanted to enjoy the time, as I have been doing in training. Enjoy the runs," Lourimi told us. "I've really had fun. Of course, I've been focusing a lot on this race, but meeting a lot of new people from different countries and [got the chance to] enjoy with them."
The historic first medal for Tunisia came a day after Thailand also made history in the women's race, with Agnese Campeol taking silver for the Asian nation.
For Tunisia's Lourimi, the next step in his career is clear: "My goal is to be in the real Olympics, so I'm going to work hard for that, now just enjoy the moment, some weeks, and then keep on the hard work and yeah, hopefully I'm there in the real Olympics."