Among the 23 athletes selected for the London Olympics is the weightlifter Vencelas Dabaya. The Frenchman’s goal is clear: to shine on the podium.
Brave, ambitious, and determined, Vencelas Dabaya does not hide his determination. A quality that has always served him in his career. It all started in 2004 at the Athens Olympics. Under the Cameroonian jersey, the weightlifter finished fifth. It was not disappointment that dominated, but the desire to do better.
Spurred on by his first French selection in 2005, he won three bronze medals at the world championships in Doha, Qatar. Everything happened very quickly after that. Double European champion, world champion, and Olympic silver medalist, the muscular man has nothing left to prove. Yet since 2008, the athlete has been accumulating underperformances on the international stage. It was only at the recent European championship in Antalya, Turkey, that he found the right path again: the path to victory.
With his 151 kg in the snatch, and 188 kg in the clean and jerk, the Azurรฉen can compete for a podium spot. Alain Koubi, president of the Regional Olympic and Sports Committee assures, “the weightlifter has a chance for a medal”. The metal remains to be determined!
Currently in a training camp in Comines, in the north, Vencelas Dabaya will surely sport his favorite shorts, over ten years old.
