Cramp ruins former refugee Cyrille Tchatchet’s big opportunity
After a torturous journey that included sleeping on the streets and the contemplation of committing suicide, former refugee Cyrille Tchatchet’s dream of winning a Commonwealth Games medal for England was ended by his entire body cramping.
It had been eight years since Tchatchet last competed at these Games, then in the colours of his native Cameroon before he sneaked away from Glasgow 2014 with just a pair of shoes and a weightlifting belt to his name.
So began the long process of Tchatchet’s path to UK nationality, with his application for asylum approved in 2016 and full citizenship only approved at the start of this year.
That final step allowed the 27-year-old to compete for England in Birmingham – the city he has made his home – but there was no happy ending as cramps struck right from the start of the men’s 96kg final.
Tchatchet still managed to snatch 158kg to leave him in the silver medal position at the halfway point, but he collapsed after his first clean and jerk attempt and two more failures prevented him registering a final total.
England’s weightlifting team leader Stuart Martin said: “What Cyrille has gone through since he arrived in the UK has been terrible. Any refugee will tell you it’s a lengthy process and requires a lot of patience.
“For him to miss out on a silver medal looking at that board (at halfway) is absolutely gutting. But we’ve been absolutely privileged to have him as part of this team.”
Shropshire’s Emily Sweeney finished last in the women’s 87kg later in the evening.
n Wolverhampton’s Lee Manning won bronze with England in the wheelchair basketball – just 24 hours after a gut-wrenching defeat to Australia in the semi-finals.
The ‘daddy’ of the team said: “I told them they had 20 minutes to mope then I’m grabbing you and we’re all coming together because there is still a job to do. As leader of the group, or daddy, I take the loss on me. Yesterday I tried my hardest as an athlete, where I should have tried a little more as a leader.
“The message is they can learn more from this. They can take yesterday’s pain and turn it into this and that will hold them in good stead in their career. England and Team GB, these are special kids.”
n England’s netball players, featuring Wolverhampton’s Laura Malcolm, were 56-35 winners over Uganda in their latest Pool B match – their fourth straight win.
n And England’s women hockey players – including Cannock’s Lily Walker – were 3-1 winners over India.
