Daba Modibo Keïta (born 5 April 1981) is a

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

athlete. Keïta has competed in international competitions since 1996, and in 2007 became the heavyweight (+84 kg) division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the +80 kg class.

Personal life

Keïta was born in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

( Côte d'Ivoire) to Malian parents, and was named for the first

President of Mali This is a list of heads of state of Mali since the country gained independence from France in 1960 to the present day. A total of seven people have served as head of state of Mali (excluding three acting presidents). Additionally, two people, ...

Modibo Keita Modibo or more correctlyMoodibbo in Fula or Fulfulde Orthography is a given name in some Fulɓe or Fulani regions, while in some regions it's used as a form of respect which means a learned scholar. Others are named moodibbo after one's parents or g ...

. He was forced to flee the country with his family in 2000 during the wave of

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

which preceded the Ivorian Civil War. Settling in Mali, Keïta had little funding for training, but received an IOC Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to pay for his training with Ivorian fighter Patrice Remarck in the United States. With coach Jorge F. Ramos, finances forced Keïta to stay with friends in Beijing during the 2007 world championship and train in a hotel courtyard. Keïta is managed by his older brother, Badra, and has lived and trained in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Two of his brothers and two of his five sisters practice taekwondo, with his sisters both blue belts.Keita looks to kick-start Mali’s Olympic dream
International Olympic Committee, 29 May 2008.

2007 world champion

Despite tearing a back muscle before the match, Keïta won the gold medal for the Heavyweight (84 kg) division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in

by beating Iranian Morteza Rostami 3 to −1 in the final. He is the first Sub-Saharan African to hold the title of Taekwondo World Champion, and has become a national hero in Mali.Taekwondo, Championnat du monde : Daba Modibo Keïta entre dans l'histoire, ''L’Essor'' du 22 mai 2007 Keita himself has reflected that "Winning the world title was almost unthinkable for an African, or someone from a developing nation". Keïta has become a national figure, making public appearances and meeting several times with the President

Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré (4 November 19489 November 2020) was a Malian politician. He supervised Mali's first multiparty elections as chairman of the transitional government (1991–1992), and later became the second democratically-elected Presiden ...

, who personally saw Keïta off to the Olympics. In part through Keïta's success, Taekwondo has exploded in popularity in the nation. In 2008 the Mali boasted over 150 clubs federated to the Fédération malienne de taekwondo (FEMAT) and 500 black belts among the almost 15,000 Malians who practise the sport.

2008 Olympic games

He represented Mali at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and was favoured before the games to win the first Olympic Gold Medal for Mali in history. He was quoted in August saying "For any athlete the Olympic Games are a dream... ...Africa really needs this medal." Keïta was flag bearer for his nation at the opening ceremony, and competed in the 80 + kg Olympic division, beginning 23 August 2008. In the first round, Keïta defeated Mickael Justin Borot 6–5 to advance to the quarterfinals but was knocked out by eventual bronze medalist

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

Chika Yagazie Chukwumerije 3–2 in extra time. Much expectation had been placed on the world champion in Mali, which had never won any Olympic medal. After Keïta's loss, the president of Mali,

, was quoted in the state run paper l'Essor, saying that this was "A painful day for Mali".J.O. de Pékin, taekwondo : pas de "grade" olympique pour Daba Modibo Keïta
, S. B. TOUNKARA, L'Essor, 25 August 2008 The paper announced the loss as "an immense disappointment for the nation."

2012 Olympic games

Keïta made it to the bronze medal match. He was forced to withdraw due to injury from the scheduled match with Cuba's

Robelis Despaigne Robelis Despaigne (born 9 August 1988, Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban taekwondo practitioner. He won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the +80 kg event. He beat Chika Yagazie Chukwumerije in the first round, before losing to Ant ...

allowing Despaigne to win the bronze medal due to walkover.

Achievements

*1996 : Gold Medal at the West African Championship in

*1997 : Gold Medal at the West African Championship in

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on the Niger Rive ...

*1999 : Bronze Medal at the West African Championship in Accra *2002, 2004 : champion of Mali *2004 : Gold Medal at the

Paris 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 ...

Open Championship, in the Open international Open Championship of Nantes and in the Open Championship of

Picardie Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

*2005 : Gold Medal at the

Open Championship *2005 : Sportsmanship trophy in the 17th

World Taekwondo Championships The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo. Competitions 1 Wuxi, China, was originally selected to host the 2021 World Taekwondo Championships. Due to the impact of the Global COVID-19 pandemic, Wuxi gave u ...

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*2005 : Gold Medal at the African Championship

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

*2005 : Gold Medal at the Coupe du monde francophone in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

(

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesWorld Taekwondo Championships The World Taekwondo Championship is held every two years by World Taekwondo. Competitions 1 Wuxi, China, was originally selected to host the 2021 World Taekwondo Championships. Due to the impact of the Global COVID-19 pandemic, Wuxi gave u ...

(84 kg) as well as the trophy for MVP (''Samsung Blue Passion Award''). *2009 : Gold Medal at the 19th

in Copenhagen. (84 kg) Bruno Loma, Taekwondo : Daba Modibo Kéita mérite d’être soutenu, Le Républicain (Mali), 27 juin 2008

References

*Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article .

External links

Beijing2008 athlete Profile

Keita eyes Mali's first gold medal

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

, Caitlin C. Rhodes, 22 August 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Keita, Daba Modibo 1981 births Living people Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Mali Malian male taekwondo practitioners Sportspeople from Abidjan World Taekwondo Championships medalists 21st-century Malian people