After a 20-year absence, Ethiopia is back in the Olympic Games boxing tournament.
The last time Ethiopian boxers took part in the Olympics was in 2004 in Athens.
Yadesa Leta (pictured) is the lucky Ethiopian boxer who will represent the country in the Paris Olympics.
Leta has been given the African quota by the International Olympic Committee Task Force following the withdrawal of Nigeria’s Omole Dolapo because of a left knee injury.
The Nigerian beat Leta 3-2 in the finals of the Africa Olympic quafiers in Dakar, Senegal, last year.
A letter to the Ethiopian Olympic Committee from the Paris 2024 Boxing Unit informing Leta he has earned a quota place said in part:”Congratulations, your athlete Fikremariyam Yadesa Leta has earned a quota place in the men 57kg through the African Qualification Tournament in Dakar for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.”
Reacting to the good news at his base in Liverpool, England, an excited Leta said at first he could not believe it he’s been given the African quota place for the Paris Games.
“It’s been my childhood dream to be in the Olympics, I’m very lucky to be able to participate,” Leta told me in a telephone interview.
He said he moved to Liverpool last year to improve on his boxing career.
“I’m now preparing to leave for Paris, the notice was short but I will try my best.” He will link up in Paris with his Addis Ababa – based coach, Ephrem Negash.
The 23-year-old Leta started boxing in 2014 at Nyala Club in Addis Ababa under coaches Keder Kemal and Hailu Kebede.
At 17 years he made his international debut in the Youth Olympics in Morocco, and then the African Games in 2019, last year’s World Championships in Uzbekistan and was in Italy this year for the first World Olympic Qualification Tournament.
In last year’s Dakar qualifiers, the Ethiopian featherweight shocked Kenya’s 2022 Africa silver medallist Sam Njau with a first round stoppage, and then beat Libya’s Ahmed Alkoum who was disqualified in the second round.
Inspired by his two wins, Leta continued with his giant-killing act, scoring another shocking victory over the 2022 Africa champion Armando Sigauque of Mozambique whom he beat 5-0 in quarter-finals.
His opponent in the semi-finals was another experienced boxer, Hichem Mouche from Algeria. Leta put up a dominant show to slaughter the Algerian boxer 5-0 and romped through to the finals for a date with Nigeria’s Omole Dolapo. In a close toe-to-toe exchange, he narrowly lost 3-2 to the Nigerian.
Leta’s participation in the Paris Olympics will see Ethiopia returning to the Games boxing tournament for the first time in 20 years.
Ethiopian boxers last took part in the Olympic Games in 2004 in Athens, Greece. In 2008, flyweight Molla Getachew was to represent Ethiopia but did not take part in the Beijing Games.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Ethiopia was represented by light-flyweight Endalkachew Kebede and bantamweight Aber Aferalign.
Kebede first outpointed Japan’s Toshiyuki Igarashi in the round of 32 but found the going rough in the round of 16 against battle-hardened Chinese boxer Zou Shimming who eliminated the Ethiopian on points and went on to settle for bronze. He’s one of the most prominent Chinese boxers, winning Olympic gold twice in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London as well world championships thrice.
Bantamweight Aferalign was stopped in his first fight by Bulgaria’s Detelin Dalakliev.
In all, Ethiopia has participated in the Olympic Games boxing tournament seven times but have yet to win a medal. Paris will be their eighth appearance in the prestigious multi-sport event.
The Ethiopian boxers made their debut in the Olympic Games in 1964 in Tokyo. Lightweight Abebe Mekonnen, light-welterweight Tadesse Gebregiorgis and light-middleweight Bekele Alemu were the pioneers who made history representing Ethiopia in their first Olympic Games boxing tournament. Ethiopian boxers went on to take part in the Olympic Games in Mexico 1968, Munich 1972, Moscow 1980, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
The late Seifu Mekonnen aka Tibo remains one of Ethiopia’s most prominent boxers. He started boxing in 1971 inspired by the legendary Muhammad Ali.
Mekonnen won the East and Central Africa light-heavyweight title in 1973 when Addis Ababa hosted the Fescaaba Championships. He moved to Kenya in 1974 to sharpen his boxing skills during the Golden Era in Kenya boxing, and joined Kenya Breweries. He represented Ethiopia in the 1972 Olympics in Munich but did not succeed to make it to the 1976 Olympics because Ethiopia joined the Africa boycott.
Mekonnen moved to the USA in 1979, turning pro and fought in three fights after which he called it quits. He died at the age of 67 in Los Angeles after battling diabetes for almost nine years.
Credit: AFBC Communications
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