Paris 2024 Olympics: Yahya Al Ghotany - the Refugee Olympic team flagbearer aiming for new heights
Yahya Al Ghotany is not your average 19-year-old.
The Syrian-born taekwondo athlete is training in Jordan with their national team, as he prepares to compete at his first Olympic Games at Paris 2024.
To make his Olympic debut even more special, Al Ghotany was chosen as the male flagbearer for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the Opening Ceremony on Friday (26 July).
It is a world away from his life back home in Syria, where he had to flee as a refugee in 2012. In the seven years he has practised the sport, he has obtained his black belt 2nd dan and earned his place at the Olympic taekwondo competition in Paris.
All that for a 19-year-old. So, who is Yahya Al Ghotany?
“I consider myself a very positive person,” Al Ghotany says of himself to Olympics.com, “I’m outgoing and very curious to learn. I’m very social, but social with the people that I feel comfortable with. I really like discovering new things. I always need a challenge in my life to focus on, I like challenges as a person.
“Being a refugee, challenges are a part of my journey as a refugee and of all displaced people who witness things that they shouldn’t. This is what drove me to accept challenges, in my daily life as a person, as an athlete and as a human.”
Overcoming challenges are a part of Al Ghotany’s life, and to pursue them even further despite what he has gone through is admirable; every step is a new challenge for him.
The next step is undoubtedly the biggest he will ever take in his career: competing in the taekwondo men’s -68kg competition at Paris 2024.
Al Ghotany, traversing taekwondo and learning from his love for football
Al Ghotany took up taekwondo in 2017 when a friend encouraged him to come join him. “I went there and I immediately saw myself in taekwondo,” he explains. “I realised that I wanted to practise it, and that it is special because it changed my personality.”
He ended up obtaining his black belt before his friend, then his 2nd dan in just five years, an achievement that normally takes taekwondo athletes seven years. The youngster has been on a steep rise in the sport, inspired by those around him in and around the sport.
“I watched so many taekwondo players even before I started doing taekwondo,” Al Ghotany reveals, “so being here and learning a lot from them is very important to me, so that in the future, I can have a very promising future and do something great.”
Away from taekwondo, Al Ghotany is a football fanatic. An FC Barcelona fan, he takes a lot of inspiration from footballers and their driven mentalities to reach the top.
He explains, “They have a professional mindset that I really admire. When it comes to sports, it is the football mentality that motivates me. All footballers know that if they work hard, go for their dreams, set their objectives and take care of their practice in a holistic way, they will achieve their dreams.
“That's why I'm really attached to football. I watch a lot of football, and I even pay attention to the small details about these players, which motivate me in my journey.”
Al Ghotany will be one of the youngest competitors in the Olypmic taekwondo competition when he takes to the mat on 8 August, just a day shy of his 20th birthday. He would certainly enjoy an early birthday present at the iconic Grand Palais.
Yahya Al Ghotany, flying the flag for 100 million refugees at Paris 2024
Four days before the Opening Ceremony, Al Ghotany found out that he will be the male flagbearer for the Refugee Olympic Team on the river Seine, representing the other 36 refugee athletes and the more than 100 million refugees globally.
“This is something amazing,” Al Ghotany says. “What goes through my mind is flashbacks, memories of everything that I've gone through. To be the flagbearer for all the refugees around the world is just an amazing feeling, the emotions are amazing I want to give hope and passion to all the refugees around the world.
Yahya Al Ghotany (front row, second from left) and some of his Refugee Olympic teammates.
“The Olympic Games is a place where anyone can reach, no matter your background, no matter who, where you come from, who you are.”
An Olympian and an Olympic flagbearer before turning 20 is simply astounding, but epitomises what a journey it has been for Al Ghotany.
The best part? It is only just getting started – and he knows it.
“For me right now it is important to build a base to lead me to where I want to be and work hard,” he tells us. “My goal doesn't stop here, it goes much further than that. My goal is results, not only at the Olympics, but any championships, because once I get results, it shows for what I've worked on all these years.”
He continues, “After the Olympics, I will be another Yahya who is super professional who will have had an amazing, unique experience at the Olympics. I expect that my daily humour and feelings will change, and this will lead to many open doors as well.”