“Dreams do come true” - Afghan sprinter Kimia Yousofi’s coach speaks about her inspirational journey to the Paris 2024 Olympics
As the Paris 2024 Olympics comes near, Afghanistan’s female sprinter Kimia Yousofi will take part in the Games as part of a gender-equal six-person team representing her homeland.
Yousofi, who was Afghanistan’s official flag-bearer at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 before the country fell to the Taliban, had to escape to Iran and then eventually Australia. There, with the help of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), Athletics Australia coach John Quinn was given the responsibility of training Yousofi for her Paris 2024 Olympics journey.
“[The Olympics] is really the Disneyland of sport, where the whole world is one. Everybody’s safe, money is irrelevant. Everything’s just here for everyone to perform at their best. It’s the world in a precious special space for just two weeks where anything is possible. Dreams do come true,” Quinn told Sportstar about Yousofi representing Afghanistan.
“They have all got their own stories” - Aussie coach on training Kimia Yousofi and Afghan players for Paris Olympics 2024
For Australian coach John Quinn, training 28-year-old Kimia Yousofi was a rewarding experience.
“I’ve never had to motivate her. She’s a highly driven, self-motivated individual. I’m sure she gets very frustrated with me and there’s no doubt that there are some cultural differences and things get lost in translation from time to time. But at the end of the day, I would look after this girl as if she was one of my own and get her to where she needs to be,” Quinn said in the interview with Sportstar.
However, Kimia Yousofi is not the only Afghan Olympian who has seen their world turn upside down since the fall of their country to the Taliban. The Taliban does not recognize any female athletes, and the male athletes, too, had to go into exile in fear for their safety.
Swimmer Fahim Anwari, who holds two national records, had to escape to Germany, while sprinter Shah Mahmud Noorzai escaped to Iran. Now, they will represent their nation at the Paris 2024 Olympics from exile. Speaking about them, Quinn said:
“They have all got their own stories and their own challenges. It’s not the purpose of being here to be the counselor. My job here is to coach them and give them support in the areas that they need.”