Karate will make its debut on the Olympic program this summer in Tokyo before disappearing immediately. A unique opportunity for karatekas to shine in the country where this…

Tokyo Olympics: Steven Da Costa, a karateka and his family clan

Steven Da Costa, world karate champion in less than 67 kg in 2018 and favorite in his discipline for the Tokyo Olympics.

AFP - GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT

Text by: RFI Follow

5 mins

Karate will make its debut on the Olympic program this summer in Tokyo before disappearing immediately.

A unique opportunity for karatekas to shine in the country that saw the birth of this sport.

To achieve this, Steven Da Costa can count on a tight-knit family circle that pushes him to the top.

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Controlled strokes, lively movements and precise sequences.

Only a few cries disturb the silence of the dojo and Steven Da Costa hops on the tatami without stopping.

He has known body language by heart since childhood.

More precisely since he was four years old, when his big brother Logan paved the way for Steven and his twin brother Jessie by making his first fights in the Mont-Saint-Martin club in Meurthe-et-Moselle.

We just wanted to be like our big brother at the base, we were born at the club and we fell into it, then we hung and it made a great story

details the 24-year-old karateka.

And this beautiful story has already been punctuated with titles and medals. First European champion and world champion in the youth categories, Steven Da Costa won the consecration by becoming world champion under 67 kg in 2018. This royal and precocious course is the pride of his big brother Logan. And even if the latter recognizes having a part in this success, he nevertheless prefers to put his importance in the success of his brother into perspective:

“
When I see my brother at the top of the discipline, it's a lot of pride. Of course, we wouldn't be here today if we had been alone in our corner. I took Steven to karate, but then he was the one who worked to get to where he is today.
"

However, their trainer Olivier Beaudry doesn't downplay Logan's role and knows how much Steven relies on his brothers to stay the best.

“Steven, it's his balance.
Even when we are in training for the France team or when he was in pole, he always started his first fight with his brother.
To take his marks, he needs this.
"

Family training

Since his world title, Steven Da Costa must now take the pressure of favorite and number one in the discipline. But the one we nickname the little prince of karate manages to detach himself from it to refocus on his objectives. "

The weight on my shoulders I ignore, because at the start, it is still my dream and my goals. I do it for myself and no one else.

But it is when he can share his victories, and especially with his brothers, that Steven savor them the most. And his most striking memory is to be mounted on the top step of the podium with his brothers in 2016. “

The European Championships in Montpellier, it was phew, I won individually and as a team, I was young. , and in addition we win as a family, it was incredible.

But the Da Costa family is not just three brothers. It is also their father Michel who is involved in the training of his sons and pushes them to surpass themselves. Maybe even too much sometimes as Steven explains. "

He's a torturer, the guy

(laughs)

, the more you grow up the more it gets lighter a little bit, he knows that we know what we are doing and that we know what we want, he no longer needs to frame us as before.
"

Despite everything, Olivier Beaudry knows well that sometimes it takes strength to train Steven Da Costa.

“

Very often, when we make him comments, even positive, he stays on the negative, it is a grumbler.
Anyway, the three brothers, they are moaners, and with the father above all that, it's a special atmosphere, but in the end, they listen to each other and that is important. .
"

But Steven will have to do without this family state of mind at the Olympics, because his brothers failed to qualify and will not be there to support him due to strict health rules.

He, who is used to celebrating his victories with somersaults, hopes to string them together on the Tokyo carpets to win gold and carry the colors of the Da Costa family high.

►Also read: Tokyo Olympics: Amjad Maafi, the very studious wrestling champion from the suburbs of Tunis

Tokyo Olympics: Steven Da Costa, a karateka and his family clan

Tokyo Olympics: Steven Da Costa, a karateka and his family clan

Family training

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