From Congo to the Olympics, Dorian Keletela, a hope of the sprint in the international team of refugees

Audio 03:40

Athlete Dorian Keletela.

© RFI / Vincent Barros

Text by: Vincent Barros

9 mins

Its presence in Tokyo is a miracle.

Dorian Keletela, a young 22-year-old sprinter, will line up for the 100m event to defend the colors of the international refugee team.

After having fled the Congo alone five years ago, a country with which he has completely cut ties, it is in Portugal that the athlete now dreams of a destiny like Francis Obikwelu, his idol and his new trainer.

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Summer 2016, in Lisbon.

In the foyer which has recently welcomed her, Dorian Keletela watches the opening of the

Olympic Games in Rio

on TV.

For the first time, a team of refugees takes part in an Olympiad and enters the Maracanã stadium to thunderous applause.

The 17-year-old does not dare to dream about it yet, but his turn will come ...

The urgency, for him, is elsewhere. Orphaned since his childhood, the boy from Kinkala, in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo

, must acclimatize to his new country, Portugal, after having to flee his own. “

The only thing that pushed me to leave my country is that in the Congo, people do not respect human values. There is no freedom of expression. The ethnic wars in the Pool also prompted me to leave. The fundamental thing is freedom. Without freedom, what good is it to live?

», He says.

Placed on a plane by his aunt, an activist watched by the Congolese regime, Dorian asks for asylum as soon as he lands in Lisbon.

Portugal grants it and welcomes it.

Tossed between two homes, the boy then enrolled in athletics.

And very quickly, over the queen distance of 100 m, he made the powder speak:

The first year I arrived I did 10'48.

This is where I started to tell myself that maybe I was going to make it my job, to have prospects.

After that, I was injured for two years, I only came back last year.

I did 10'46, the best performance in Portugal. 

"

"

The

sprinter with crooked feet

"

From the height of his 1.75 m and strong of exceptional physical qualities, Dorian then gained a nickname in the Portuguese press: "

the sprinter with twisted feet

".

Nickname which he formally rejects: " 

I don't have crooked feet!"

It's just my way of walking

.

"

In any case, his particular profile catches the eye of the Portuguese Olympic Committee, which submits a candidacy.

Then nothing, until the unexpected news fell last month: Dorian is indeed selected in

the international team of refugees

and will be able to line up for 100m at the

Tokyo Olympics.

Since then, the 22-year-old athlete has been riding his crop under the Lisbon sun.

 For now, I'm at 10'55.

What blocks me is that I can't seem to repeat what I do in training.

I know I can do less 10'20, 10'15 ... I hope that in the next competition, it will come out

"

,

he added.

Francis is a source of inspiration for me.

It is a model

"

He now dreams of only one thing: to embrace a destiny like Francis Obikwelu, his new trainer, who arrived in Portugal as an illegal immigrant in 1994, before winning ten years later the silver medal in the 100m in the Athens Olympics.

Francis means a lot to me.

He also arrived at my age in Portugal, he went through a lot, but he succeeded.

He won medals, broke records and does a lot for Portuguese sport.

Today Francis is a source of inspiration for me.

He's a model,

”says the athlete.

The European record holder over 100 m (9'86), he assures us that the progression of his colt will take time: “ 

I am not doing a miracle.

Each athlete is different, has their characteristics.

I think he can be talked about at European and world level.

If he walks fearlessly, it is possible.

"

His approach to Dorian is above all psychological. “ 

Dorian speaks very little. When I got to know him, I quickly saw that he was on the defensive, some say aggressive, because of what he went through as a child. I started talking to him to free his mind, head and heart. I talk to him and have fun with him like he's my son, so that he understands that he has a family here. It helped him a lot

,

says the coach.

Dorian is now waiting to live his Olympic dream in Japan.

And to relieve himself, in his swift wake, of the sufferings of the past: "[

The Olympics], it will also be the opportunity for me to convey the message that, no matter what situation you may go through in life, you can always overcome it and succeed with faith, conviction and determination,

”he concludes.

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