TOGO: KAYAKING - Olympic medalist Benjamin Boukpeti launches training programme for youth

Record ID: 861071

  • Title: TOGO: KAYAKING - Olympic medalist Benjamin Boukpeti launches training programme for youth
  • Date: 16th August 2010
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (French) JEAN DOVI, KAYAKING STUDENT SAYING: "I went for training and he (Benjamin) came and met me, and I kept going back again and again until I got to where I am."
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Togo
  • City:
  • Country: Togo
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA610CVIC59W9KSCX4Y2SF762W3
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  • Story Text: Togo's first medallist at an Olympics, white water kayaker Benjamin Boukpeti, recently launched a training programme for young people to raise interest in the sport there.
    Born in France to a French mother and a Togolese father, Boukpeti made a name for himself and his country in kayaking when he won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
    The training project is located at a sports training centre in Agrodrafo, a town 30 kilometers east of the Togo's capital, Lome and also close to Lake Togo, where the students train.
    There are currently 91 children aged between 6-13 years old in the programme which offers free week-long classes.
    "I went for training and he (Benjamin) came and met me, and I kept going back again and again until I got to where I am," said Jean Dovi, who was benefitting from Boukpeti's expertise.
    The programme is funded in part by Boukpeti, well wishers and the Togolese government.
    Boukpeti says starting the programme, which also integrates training in other sports, has been his dream for a long time.
    "It was natural, being the first Togolese canoe Olympic medal winner, to bring this sport to Togo. I have opted for a camp where several sports can be practised because as you can see, it is difficult to get 100 kids into the water at the same time, so the idea is to offer several activities that the more than 90 kids can discover in a few days and this is important," said Boukpeti.
    The students camp at the school and say they enjoy the concentration on sports especially, volleyball and Tchoukball, a sport similar to handball.
    "We sleep here, we eat here, we do everything here, we bath here and then in the morning we exercise and its great," said Daniel Akpaga, a student at the programme.
    Trainers also teach classes on environmental conservation of marine life and the importance of biodiversity.
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