DINIZ Yohann

General
DOHA REGRET
He was concerned about how the heat might affect him at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, but in the end he decided to defend the title he had won two years earlier in London. However, he had to abandon the 50km race walk after just 16km. "I think I made a big mistake. I should have stayed at home doing something positive instead of stubbornly coming here and doing nothing. I leave here with a lot of doubts, but also positive. We will have to work for next year [at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo]. We will be in a beautiful country, there will be sunshine, there may be even more heat, but we will prepare for it. These types of climates may not be made for me." (lemonde.fr, 29 Sep 2019)

STOMACH ISSUES
He managed to finish in eighth place in the men's 50km at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, despite being affected by gastrointestinal problems during the competition. "A blood clot was blocked in my intestine. That could have happened at any time. I don't remember the end of the race, I just was afraid I was going to die once I was rushed to the hospital. My heart rate was at 190. They could not to stabilise me. [But] if I hadn't been allowed to finish, I don't know what psychological state I would be in today." (liberation.fr, 03 Sep 2017)

DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD
He grew up in Epernay, France, and his parents separated while he was still quite young. His grandparents took over a lot of the responsibility for bringing him up, and he also went to boarding school, but he went through a period of spending time with the wrong people, taking drugs and getting in trouble with the police. "I can tell you about stupidity, when it comes to behaviour. Sometimes, when you are lost, you look for maternal or paternal figures to hang on to. When I was younger, I took things. I was stupid." (liberation.fr, 03 Sep 2017)