[1/5] Sedia Sanogo, 33, captain of the Ivory Coast women's boxing team who dreams to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games, attends a practice session in Guerville, France, August 25, 2023.
"When I watched the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, there were many people from many countries, including my (former) teammates from the French team, but Ivory Coast was not represented," Sanogo, 33, told Reuters.
But she chose to run under the flag of Ivory Coast, becoming the African country's first female boxer with Olympic aspirations.
"In Ivory Coast, many have a traditional way of thinking.
Arthur Boua, the head of Ivory Coast's boxing federation, said he was proud that thanks to Sanogo, the country now had a women's team.
Persons:
Sanogo, Benoit Tessier, Denis, Ivory Coast's, Arthur Boua, Ivory, Clotaire Achi, Loucoumane Coulibali, Tassilo Hummel, Ingrid Melander, Conor Humphries
Organizations:
Ivory Coast, Paralympics Games, REUTERS, Rights, Paris, Rio Olympic, Reuters, Olympic, Thomson
Locations:
Ivory, Guerville, France, Ivory Coast, Paris, Seine, African, Africa, Dakar, Ivory Coast's