Maple Grove’s ‘Gambian Goliath’ Prepares for Paris Olympics
To achieve any level of success, it requires hard work. It’s something Alasan Ann knows all too well. He’s currently training to compete on the world’s biggest stage.
“Yeah we’re just excited. Excited to see what we can do,” said Ann, who’s also known as the “Gambian Goliath.”
Ann is a Maple Grove native who qualified for the Paris Olympics in February in the martial art of taekwondo.
He’ll represent The Gambia, his father’s native country, whose Olympic representation will be… small.
“Two people — super small right now,” Ann said.
But big things can come in small packages, and Ann has high expectations for these games.
Alasan Ann (right) practices a kick at World Taekwondo Academy in Maple Grove.
Medal aspirations
“Expectations are for me to go out there and do my best and give Gambia their first medal,” he said.
The man helping him achieve that task is Grandmaster Eui Lee, who’s trained Ann at World Taekwondo Academy in Maple Grove since he was a child.
“We try to keep everything as normal as possible because we still want to think of it as just — even though it’s not — but still have the mentality that it’s just another day,” said Lee.
Still, with Paris only weeks away, Ann’s training regimen has literally been kicked into high gear: twice a day, five days a week.
“First training is strength conditioning, sprints, weights, biometrics all that stuff,” said Ann. “Second training is probably like an hour or two after — traditional taekwondo, fighting, sparring, tactics, accuracy, all that stuff.”
But “all that stuff” is what makes a champion. Coach Lee and Ann’s colleagues will make sure that he’d prepared.
Qualifying is already a major victory in and of itself.
“Just by being there is a win,” Lee said. “But of course, we’re all competitive. We want to go out there and we want to win a medal.”
Medal or not, Ann hopes this Olympic run will inspire others — the kids in the Maple Grove studio, and those around the world.
“What I do will hopefully spark Gambia’s, I don’t know, like fire to grow a team and hopefully create a force to reckon with,” Ann said.
Ann’s first Olympic match will take place against Croatia on Aug. 10.
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