Emmanuella Jurielcy Atora Eyeghe (born 1996 or 1997[1]) is a Gabonese taekwondo practitioner. She qualified to represent Gabon at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1996 or 1997 (age 27–28) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Gabon |
| Sport | Taekwondo |
| Weight class | Featherweight |
Biography
editAtora had played football as a youth but her father enrolled her in taekwondo in 2011.[1] She had only two weeks to learn the sport before competing at the Gabon Taekwondo Cup, but she won the bronze medal.[1] In 2012, she returned to the tournament and won silver, before winning gold in 2013.[1]
Atora then won a number of competitions in the subsequent years; aside from a bronze medal at the 2014 French World Cup, she won gold at the Champions Challenge tournament in 2014, 2015 and 2016, gold (and best fight) at the 2017 Park Master Challenge, gold at the 2018 Africa-Asia Cup and at the 2018 University Championship.[1] She also competed at the African Taekwondo Championships in 2014 and at the World Taekwondo Championships and African Games in 2015, although she did not medal.[2]
Atora took off from competition for a time and had a son.[3] Afterwards, she initially stopped competing altogether, but decided to relaunch her career after receiving support from several people.[4] She participated at the African Championships in 2021, at the 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Prix and won the bronze medal at the 2023 Senegal Open.[2] At the 2023 African Taekwondo Championships, she won a silver medal in the 57 kg category.[5]
Atora was one of four Gabonese taekwondo practitioners invited to the African Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament in February 2024.[6] She defeated Nada Laaraj of Morocco and thus qualified to represent Gabon at the 2024 Summer Olympics; she became the first Gabon qualifier for the 2024 Olympics, the only taekwondo qualifier, and the country's first female taekwondo athlete to ever qualify.[4][7] In an interview with Gabon Media Time following her win, she described her career as "I hit people for a living."[7] In March 2024, she was Gabon's flagbearer at the African Games.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Emmanuella Atora : Portrait d'une Taekwondoïste en or et mannequin pro au parcours inspirant" [Emmanuella Atora: Portrait of a golden Taekwondo player and pro model with an inspiring career]. GabonCelebrites.com (in French). 2 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Atora, Emmanuella". TaekwondoData.
- ^ Saholiarisoa, Fanja (7 March 2022). "Derrière chaque femme épanouie dessine un soutien, une protection et une opportunité appropriés" [Behind every fulfilled woman lies appropriate support, protection and opportunity] (in French). UNICEF.
- ^ a b Ndong, Willy (19 February 2024). "Emmanuella Atora Eyeghe : "Tenter un grand coup à Paris en remportant une médaille"" [Emmanuella Atora Eyeghe: “Take a big shot in Paris by winning a medal”]. L'Union (in French).
- ^ Mbeng Essone, Lyonnel (6 November 2023). "Championnat d'Afrique de taekwondo : Atora Eyeghe en argent !" [African Taekwondo Championship: Atora Eyeghe in silver!] (in French). Gabon Media Time.
- ^ Edou, Christian (12 February 2024). "JO Paris 2024 : Emmanuella Atora, premier athlète gabonais qualifié" [Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Emmanuella Atora, first qualified Gabonese athlete]. News-Live (in French).
- ^ a b Mbeng Essone, Lyonnel (12 February 2024). "Taekwondo : Emmanuella Atora seule qualifiée pour les J.O Paris 2024 !" [Taekwondo: Emmanuella Atora is the only one qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics!] (in French). Gabon Media Time.
- ^ Ondo Mba, Kennedy (28 February 2024). "Jeux Africains 2024: Emmanuella Atora, désignée porteuse du flambeau du Gabon" [African Games 2024: Emmanuella Atora, designated torchbearer of Gabon]. ClubSportPlus.fr (in French).