Daniel Ebenezer Koum Koum (born 25 May 1985, in

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...

) is a Cameroon-born Australian

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

in the −62 kg category. In the

2011 World Weightlifting Championships The 2011 World Weightlifting Championships were held at Disneyland Paris in Paris, France. The event took place from November 5 to 13, 2011. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Ranking by Big (Total result) medals Ranking by all medals: ...

that were held in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Koum placed 29th overall with a 112 kg snatch and a 145 kg clean and jerk.

Weightlifting career

At the age of 15, Koum moved to Yaounde, Cameroon and began lifting weights inside a gym owned by his father. He developed the strength required to allow him to represent Cameroon in several international competitions such as the

2005 World Weightlifting Championships The 2005 in sports, 2005 World Weightlifting Championships were held in Al-Sadd Sports Centre, Doha, Qatar from November 9 to November 17. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Ranking by Big (Total result) medals Ranking by all medals: Big ...

and the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. He finished 5th in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. During the 2006 Commonwealth Games in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Koum was granted a sports visa to compete in the games. After the completion of the games, Koum chose to stay in Australia and sought asylum. After two years, he was granted Australian citizenship and was free to represent Australia in international competitions. As an Australian competitor, Koum won the Oceania Weightlifting Championships gold medal for three years running, and became a dual Victorian and Australian Championships gold medalist. After competing in the 2012 Oceania Weightlifting Championships, it was alleged that Kuom had demanded, and received, $5000 from Australian team officials prior to agreeing to compete. Kuom was required to lift in order to allow an Australian competitor to qualify for the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Koum has denied the allegations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koum, Daniel 1985 births Living people Australian male weightlifters Weightlifters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Cameroon