MISENGA Popole

25 Feb 1992
29
Male
Olympic Scholarship
RIO DE JANEIRO
 
Brazil

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
JUD Judo Men -90 kg 17
Mixed Team 9

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Followed by
Nippon Budokan Judo Mat 2
HUN
TOTH KTOTH Krisztian
10
IPP
EOR
MISENGA PMISENGA Popole
0s2
Finished
Nippon Budokan Judo Mat 1
GER
Germany
4
EOR
Refugee Olympic Team
0
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
Olympic Games
YearLocation-90 kg
2016Rio de Janeiro, BRA9

World Championships
YearLocation-90 kgTeam X
2019Tokyo, JPN339
2013Rio de Janeiro, BRA33-

Grand Slam - Tally of rank achieved per season and event since 2017
YearEvent1st2nd3rd5th7th9th16th17th30th-33rd
2019-90 kg-------2x1x
2018-100 kg--------1x

Grand Slam, Grand Prix & World Cup - Ten best performances since 2017
RankYearEventCompetitionLocation
172019-90 kgGrand SlamOsaka, JPN
172019-90 kgGrand SlamBrasilia, BRA
332019-90 kgGrand SlamBaku, AZE
332018-100 kgGrand SlamOsaka, JPN
:
Athlete
:
Children Helias and Maria-Eliza
:
French, Portuguese
:
Instituto Reacao [Rio de Janeiro, BRA]
:
Geraldo Bernardes [personal], BRA
:
He began learning judo while at a United Nations refugee camp in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (sbnation.com, 10 Aug 2016; indianexpress.com, 06 Jun 2017)
:
"When you are a child, you need to have a family to give you instructions about what to do, and I didn't have one. Judo helped me by giving me serenity, discipline, commitment - everything." (olympics.com, 23 Feb 2021)
:
To win a medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (edition.cnn.com, 23 Aug 2017)

General Interest

General
EARLY DAYS
He lives in Brazil, but was born in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was affected by civil war when he was a child. His mother was killed when he was age nine and he spent a week alone in the rainforest before being rescued and taken to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he spent time living in a United Nations refugee camp. He and fellow judoka Yolande Bukasa Mabika sought asylum in Brazil after the 2013 World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was separated from his two brothers after his mother died, but was able to speak to one of his brothers by phone almost 15 years later. "I wondered sometimes how to live when so many people were dying. I have seen too much war, too much death. I do not want to get into that. I want to stay clean so I can do my sport." (olympic.org, 03 Jun 2016; theguardian.com, 07 Jan 2016; sbnation.com, 10 Aug 2016; indianexpress.com, 06 Jul 2017; news.trust.org, 30 Jul 2016; edition.cnn.com, 23 Aug 2017)

RIO EXPERIENCE
He competed as part of the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I was very happy when I found out I was selected for the IOC Refugee [Olympic] Team [for the 2016 Games]. It meant a lot for me, to be able to represent all the refugees in the world on the international sports platform. It gives me strength on the tatami representing the millions of persons who had to leave their home and country. It's an honour to be in the Olympics. I'm just really happy to be here because everybody understands and knows about the refugee team, knows the refugee story. I can't explain how happy I am. I never dreamed about competing in judo again, and I came back in the world's most famous competition. The Olympics made me famous. People recognised me in the street. They'd say, 'It's that guy in the Olympics!'" (theguardian.com, 10 Aug 2016; sbnation.com, 10 Aug 2016; ijf.org, 12 May 2019)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
IPP:
Ippon
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