Behind football, which has shone brightly since the CAN won in February, taekwondo is the second most popular sport in Côte d’Ivoire. Nearly 64,000 Ivorians practice it today, and many of them joined the tatamis following the exploits of Cheick Cissé and Ruth Gbagbi. Between them, they represent three quarters of the Olympic medals in the history of Côte d’Ivoire. Both trained in Koumassi, a popular commune in Abidjan, the champions have been training for seven years in Spain, on the island of Majorca. In the calm of the Balearic Islands, the two icons are dreaming of a dream: achieving the double this summer in the French capital.
“From Koumassi to the Paris Games, the fabulous destiny of Cheick Cissé and Ruth Gbagbi”, a major report by Youenn Gourlay and Martin Guez.