Daba Modibo Keïta (born 5 April 1981) is a

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, 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 script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

(

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

) to Malian parents, and was named for the first

President of Mali This is a list of Head of state, 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). Additionall ...

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

xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

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. 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), also popularly known in Mali by his initials ATT (), was a Malian politician. He supervised Mali's first multiparty elections as chairman of the transitional government (1991–1992), and la ...

, 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 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

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 derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

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 (fr. ''Progress'') is the state-owned national daily newspaper published in Bamako, Mali. Its motto is "''La Voix du Peuple''" ("The Voice of the People"). History was first published in 1949, and from 1953 was the official publication of the ...

, 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 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 is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

*1999 : Bronze Medal at the West African Championship in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

*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, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Open Championship, in the Open international Open Championship of

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and in the Open Championship of

Picardie Picardy (; Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained its first official recognition in the ...

*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. In addition to the kyorugi (full contact fighting) Championships, there are also Para World Championships as well as Poomsae and Para Poomsae Championships held every ...

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*2005 : Gold Medal at the African Championship

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

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

(

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

). *2007 : Gold Medal at the 18th

(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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

, 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 sportsmen