Maple Grove Olympic Taekwondo Athlete Looks Back on Paris Games
An estimated 10,500 athletes competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Alasan Ann of Maple Grove was one of them.
“It was enlightening, was probably the best way to say it,” said Ann, who competed in the martial art of Taekwondo for the African nation of The Gambia.
During the opening ceremony on July 26, Ann was part of the small contingent representing team Gambia.
“We passed one big bridge and then you see thousands of people just screaming, yelling, and then it starts raining and I’m like, ‘okay, this is getting insane, this is getting crazy,” Ann said, reminiscing about his experience during the opening ceremony.
The 23-year-old used that opportunity to record a TikTok video of him dancing near the Eiffel Tower, because, why wouldn’t you?
From there, Ann had two weeks before he had to compete, so he spent a week in another part of France to train.
“Beds, your own room, it was actually, compared to the Olympic Village, it was first class, I was happy,” he said.
He then returned to the Olympic Village the following week, where he took in the sights with family and friends.
“Yes, I went to the Arc de Triomphe, I went to the Louvre,” he said.
Alasan Ann, second from left, with other members of the Gambian Olympic team. They’re dressed in their outfits from the opening ceremony.
Day of the big match
Then on August 10, his opportunity finally came to compete and try to earn Gambia a medal in taekwondo.
His opponent that day was Ivan Sapnia of Croatia. The match did not go as Ann had hoped.
“Competing-wise, I lost my first match. It was pretty sad, actually,” Ann said.
After years of training, Ann’s official Olympic participation lasted all of 10 minutes, but he took away a valuable lesson from the experience.
“I’ve experienced loss before and that’s just how you have to accept it. You accept it. You move on and then you keep it pushing, you grow with it, and then you try to make yourself better,” Ann said.
Going forward, he has his eyes on Los Angeles in 2028.
“I think L.A. could definitely be a possibility, for sure,” Ann said. “And I think, you know, when I say everybody has their own time, I’m a big believer in that, and I think my time will come for that.”
With Ann’s Paris experience over, he has a focus on the now. He opened up his own World Taekwondo Academy studio in Andover. The Olympian has already amassed 55 students.
Alasan Ann at the Olympic Village in Paris.
Related: Maple Grove Takekwondo Athlete To Compete in Paris Olympics
