Guillaume Junior Atangana

Started: He took up the sport in 2015 at age 16 in Yaounde, Cameroon. (nyanga.cm, 31 Aug 2020; Athlete, 20 Aug 2021) Reason: He was scouted by coach Frederick Fouda Nsoe at a competition where he placed fifth in a sprint event. "Originally, I wanted to be a great footballer. But with my disability, I focused on running since I could no longer follow my dream of being a football player." (paralympic.org, 09 Jul 2024; nyanga.cm, 31 Aug 2020) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 09 Jul 2024) Awards: He was named as flagbearer for the Refugee Paralympic Team for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 25 Aug 2024) Additional Info: REFUGEE PARALYMPIC TEAM He represented Cameroon at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo before becoming part of the Refugee Paralympic Team for the 2024 Games in Paris. He lives in Bingley, England. "For me, being on the Refugee Paralympic Team is an incredible opportunity. Many people wanted to be on the team. So, I have had to pull out all the stops to be the best. I remember very well the early days when we arrived in England. We had to adapt a lot of things to fit in our training - especially with the colder climate, which wasn't favourable to us. We didn't have a lot of support at first. We didn't know anyone; we were in limbo without our papers. Yet, my [running] guide and I remained focused on our training. We had the big picture in mind, hoping to qualify for Paris 2024." (paralympic.org, 09 Jul 2024; Bradford Council X profile, 07 Jun 2024)