Gbagbi Ruth

Taekwondo is second only to Football when it comes to popularity in Côte d’Ivoire, thanks to the incredible success of Gbagbi and her compatriots in the sport.

But this wasn’t always the case. So why did Ruth start practising Taekwondo at the age of eight?

“When I was young, liked to fight in the streets, so my mom told me to try Taekwondo and now I’m a world champion!” Ggagbi said, “She’s very proud of me.”

With so many young aspiring Taekwondo athletes that want to follow in her footsteps, what would be her advice?

“You need to be respectful and have the fighting spirit.”

She is already a Taekwondo superstar and national Côte d’Ivoire superhero, but there is one medal that has eluded Gbagbi - Olympic gold. Not satisfied with her two bronze medals from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, the veteran has Paris 2024 in her gunsights.

“I hope!” she said. “I will give my all to go to