Tokyo 2020: Cameroon's refugee athlete Cyrille realises Olympic dream

Bengaluru, July 27: Cameroon weightlifter Cyrille Tchatchet II is preparing to make history at the Tokyo 2020 Games, seven years after finding himself homeless and penniless on United Kingdom's streets.

In June, the weightlifter was officially selected for the Refugee Olympic Team in a ceremony co-hosted by International Olympic Committe (IOC) President Thomas Bach, making him the first UK-based refugee Olympian.

The IOC Refugee Olympic Team first appeared at the 2016 Rio Games.

At Tokyo 2020, Cyrille will compete in the 96kg weight class on Saturday (July 31) as part of a 29-strong contingent of displaced athletes.

"I feel like I was brought back to life. It's a dream come true," Cyrille told AFP news agency.

"I'm proud - it sends a big message of hope and solidarity."

"I feel very excited not just to represent myself but about 80 million displaced people around the world. To represent refugees and the under-privileged will be a big responsibility," added Cyrille as he marched with pride along with the rest of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team during the athletes parade in the opening ceremony.

I thought it was a dream! I still can't beleive I helped carry the Olympic flag into the Olympic stadium in Tokyo.

I am honored and privileged to be given the opportunity to represent both refugees and Healthcare workers who worked tirelessly during the covid-19 pandemic pic.twitter.com/MShHETJ6XP

— Cyrille Tchatchet II (@Iicyrille) July 24, 2021

The Cameroonian has a first-class degree in mental health nursing and worked on the frontline during Britain's first coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown last March.

But his prospects appeared bleak when he first arrived.

The Yaounde-born athlete competed for Cameroon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow before learning that it was not safe for him to return home for reasons he prefers not to reveal.

He fled the team base with just his backpack, some clothes and weightlifting gear and ended up homeless for two months in Brighton, a city in southern England.

"It was a very difficult experience. I had to escape. I was very young and scared. I didn't think much about the future," he recalled.

Eking out a miserable existence under a bridge with no money, food or water and suffering from depression, Cyrille, haunted by suicidal thoughts, had sunk to his lowest ebb.

A call to Samaritans, a charity supporting those in emotional distress, pulled him back from the brink. Police removed him from the streets and an asylum application was submitted.

Cyrille's mental health continued to suffer as the authorities rejected and reconsidered his application and transferred him to three separate detention facilities during a two-year period.

With his life in limbo, Cyrille found solace in sport and took British weightlifting by storm, achieving five English titles, three British titles and five national records across two weight classes.

Sporting success helped alleviate persistent mental struggles. "If you get into exercise, you forget those things. It played a very important part in my recovery," he explained.

Cyrille, who now works as a community health nurse in London, staffed a mental health ward when the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed Europe last spring.