When Cameroonian Guillaume Junior Atangana lost his sight, he thought his life was over and that he would never do sports again.
Now he’s competing at Paris2024 as a member of the largest-ever Refugee Paralympic Team.
In tandem with his running guide, Gillaume will compete in the 400m T11 events (athletes in the T11 class are severely visually impaired and compete blindfolded with a guide runner).
He will line up later at the Games in the 100m with his guide, Israel Malachi-Harrison.
Together with seven other Para athletes competing across six sports, they are part of the largest-ever Refugee Paralympic Team. They are hoping to build on the historic success of the Refugee Olympic Team in Paris and represent the hopes and dreams of 120 million forcibly displaced people around the world, including an estimated 18 million with disabilities.
Back story
When he was a young boy growing up in Cameroon (West Africa), Junior’s sole ambition was to become the world’s greatest footballer. But at the age of 8, his vision began to deteriorate and by the age of 12, he had lost his sight entirely.
“I didn’t leave my room for several months. I was thinking everything was finished with sports,” he recalls. “But I made a friend who helped me, and I started running.”
Running helped restore his confidence and his love of sports. “When I’d just lost my sight, it wasn’t easy for me; I was worried about walking. But when I ran, I didn’t feel worried”, said Guillaume.
Junior began working with a coach who also became his guide runner and, together, they went on to win several medals in international competitions. Eventually, he became too fast for his coach and started looking for a new guide. He found his match in Donard Ndim Nyamjua, a national 800m champion in his own right who lived nearby and was willing to try to be a guide runner.
Since moving to the UK and being linked up with a support worker for people with visual-impairments, Junior has also learned how to walk with a white cane, and do other tasks for himself such as taking a train or bus or making himself a hot drink. He is studying English and braille at a local college while Donard is studying IT and English.
In Paris, Junior wants to send a message to other refugees and people with disabilities that “anything is possible.”
- Numeris Média is officially accredited media to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games