 Cho at the 2016 Olympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 16 August 1989 (age 34) Ivory Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 192 cm (6 ft 4 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (220 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Taekwondo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Paul Green[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 19 September 2019. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mahama Cho (born 16 August 1989) is a taekwondo practitioner who competes in the +87 kg category. Born in the Ivory Coast, he has represented both Great Britain and France in the sport.[3]
Abdoufata Cho Mahama was raised by his grandmother in the Ivory Coast; his father was abroad and his mother was unable to care for him.[4] A practising Muslim, he attended an Arabic school in Abidjan.[4] As a child, Cho was bullied.[4]
Cho moved to London at the age of eight, at the request of his father.[4] Cho's father Zakaia was a former African taekwondo champion who was teaching the sport there whilst also driving taxis.[4] When he arrived in England, staying first in Kennington and then in Stockwell, Cho was unable to speak any English.[4] He lived with his father's new family, forming a particularly close friendship with his step-brother David.[4]
In 2014, he became engaged to French heptathlete Antoinette Nana Djimou.[4] but their relationship ended in 2017.
Cho played semi-professionally for Erith Town.[4] He trialled with Dagenham and Redbridge at the age of 16.[4] He gave up his football career at the age of 17 to focus on taekwondo.[4]
He joined the British taekwondo squad at the age of 17.[4] He was injured at the 2011 World Championships.[4] After that event, he moved to Paris to study.[4] He joined the French taekwondo squad, winning gold at 2013 Dutch and USA Opens.[4]
After returning to compete for Britain, at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix he won a gold medal in 2013,[5] and a silver medal in 2014.[6] In January 2016 he secured Britain their fourth and final qualifying place for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7]
2017
World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, South Korea
Moldova International Open, in Chisinau, Moldova2016
5th 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2015
President's Cup, in Hamburg, Germany European Olympic Qualification Tournament, in Istanbul, Turkey Polish International Open, in Warsaw, Poland US Open, in Las Vegas, United States
Serbia International Open, in Belgrad, Serbia Grand Prix, in Moscow, Russia2014
Paris International Open, in Paris, France Commonwealth Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland Swiss International Open Bahrain International Open, Bahrain Grand Prix Series in Astana, Kazakhstan Luxor International Open, in Luxor, Egypt Fujairah International Open, in United Arab Emirats Grand Prix, in Suzhou, China2013
Grand Prix Final in Manchester, England German International Open, in Hamburg, Germany Dutch International Open, in Eindhoven, Nederlands Paris International Open, in Paris, France Spanish International Open, in Alicante, Spain US Open, in Las Vegas, England2012
