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Cyrille Tchatchet II is the candidate from the weightlifting family to the WADA Athlete Council, an election that will take place between December 10-12. Now representing Great Britain, Cyrille is a Cameroon-native athlete who joined Europe as a refugee and, in this quality, integrated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Refugee Team. His perseverance and charisma were rewarded with his election in December 2022 to the IWF Athletes Commission.

After the first stage of the bid, at the end of October, the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed some days ago that the 29-year-old lifter was an eligible candidate for its Athlete Council, together with 25 other athletes from different sports. Eight of them will sit in the WADA’s body for the period 2025-2027.

Cyrille Tchatchet at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

Still an active athlete, Tchatchet is combining his sports career with a regular job as a mental health nurse. While applying for this position, he established some important priorities: “I am seeking election to the WADA Athlete Council to protect the integrity of sport and promote athlete’s health. With over 15 years in weightlifting, I understand the pressures athletes face and the need for a level playing field. My goal is to ensure that anti-doping policies are fair, transparent, and supportive of athletes’ well-being. I aim to strengthen education, communication, and collaboration between athletes and anti-doping authorities.”

Following his 10th place in the 96kg category in Tokyo, Tchatchet started competing for Great Britain, obtaining his best result in 2023, with a fourth place in the European Championships. At the earlier stage of his career, in 2013, he was fifth at the African Championships, under Cameroon’s flag. “With my background in elite sports and role as a registered mental health professional, I can effectively voice concerns while promoting transparency and athlete welfare. My experience at national and international level has given me insight into the importance of clean sport for the mental well-being of all athletes,” Tchatchet also said.

Competing at the 2023 IWF World Championships

The election of the IF representatives within the WADA Athlete Council is made by the International Federations’ Athletes Commission bodies. Forrester Osei is the IWF Athletes Commission Chair and the person who, on IWF’s behalf, endorsed Tchatchet for this role.

“His candidature to the WADA Athlete Council would be the corollary of his successful story and an additional avenue to give back some of his experience and expertise to the sport. Moreover, his involvement in the essential field of the fight against doping, brilliantly led by WADA on a global scale, would be another of Cyrille’s contributions to ensure fair and drug-free competitions in the five continents,” noted Osei.

“Cyrille’s story in the sport of weightlifting is an amazing and incredibly inspirational one. It is the real tale of a man who was obliged to leave his nation and look for better conditions in another continent, far from the ones he loves. A man, an athlete, that succeeded in the sport he cherishes and complemented that with an accomplished professional career,” concluded the IWF Athletes Commission Chair.

IWF Communications