Afghan 100m sprinter Kimia Yousofi’s new life in Sydney – training, learning

It’s one of those bright and sunny mornings in Ryde, a quaint Sydney suburb. The area has a strong Asian population and not far away, there is an Afghan settlement.

Kimia Yousofi lives in this part of the world along with her mother and younger brother. They have been in Sydney since August and are slowly getting a hang of things in this Australian city.

There is obviously some sort of culture shock. But Kimia has a hectic schedule that keeps her busy. She starts her day with training at the Olympic Park, then rushes to language classes and by the time she is back home tired and exhausted, Kimia gets ready for another day. That’s how it has been for the last three months.

When the family initially shifted to this part of the world – after living in Iran for about a year – they were apprehensive about the road ahead. For Kimia, it was a strange feeling, because in the past twelve months, her life, her country and her world had changed.

FILE PHOTO: Afghanistan flag bearers Kimia Yousofi and Farzad Mansouri lead their team during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

When the 100m sprinter travelled to Tokyo in July, 2021 as the flag-bearer of Afghanistan at the Olympics, little did she know that it was her last flight from home. While she was featuring in the Olympics, the Taliban took over Afghanistan and as the country was in turmoil, Kimia, like many of her compatriots, could not head back home.

For a long period of time, Kimia could not establish any contact with her folks back home, and with the situation deteriorating in Afghanistan with each passing day, she flew to Iran with the help of the International Olympic Committee. Iran was not a new country for her because before the Tokyo Olympics, she had been there for training. But this time around, it was a different experience.

“When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, like all my compatriots, I was upset, but it was a bit different than others,” Kimia tells Sportstar.

She is still not well versed with English and relies on a translation app to understand the language. At times, some parts of the conversation are lost in translation, but Kimia tries her best to put forward her point.

“Many boys and girls had abandoned their goals and interests after the arrival (takeover) of the Taliban, but I decided to continue to prove myself and in the interest of my country. And instead of living in despair, I decided to find a solution,” she says, “And one option was to move to a safer country and continue…”

The International Olympic Committee looked at Canada as her possible destination, but that’s when the Australian Olympic Committee showed keenness in bringing her to Sydney. Athletics Australia asked its coach John Quinn if he would be able to take care of the athlete and after the seasoned coach gave his consent, Kimia travelled to Australia to start her new journey.

An…