Faisal Jeylani Aweys ( so, Faysal Jaylaani Caweeys, ar, فيصل جيلاني عويس) is a Somali

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

practitioner.

Personal life

Aweys was born in 1987 in

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. He later moved to Switzerland at the age of 13. Based in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

, he competed in taekwondo for his school, Taekwondo Malley.

Career

Spotted in a tournament in Switzerland by Duran Farah, Aweys subsequently joined the Somalia national Taekwondo team. He trained there alongside Mohamed Deq Abdulle, with Elton de Souza serving as coach. In 2010, Aweys along with his friend Anthony Wood founded their own taekwondo club. One year after its inception, the club quickly formed four national champions. That year, Aweys won his first national title at the Switzerland Championships. He also won several other tournaments elsewhere in Europe, including in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Aweys' collaboration with the

Somali Olympic Committee The Somali Olympic Committee ( so, Guddiga Olimbikada Soomaaliyeed) is the National Olympic Committee representing Somalia. Logo Image:SomaliOlympicCommittee.jpg, Former logo See also * Somalia at the Olympics References External linksSoma ...

allowed him to compete for Somalia for the first time outside of Europe. He took part in the

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

open in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 2013, where he finished fourth. At the 2013 Open World Taekwondo Challenge Cup in

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

, Aweys and Mohamed Deq Abdulle also took home a silver medal and fourth place, respectively. The Somali Olympic Committee has devised a special support program for the Somalia national Taekwondo team to ensure continued success in future tournaments. In May 2014, Aweys participated in the Taekwondo African Championships held in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. He beat competitors from

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, before eventually losing in the semi-finals against a stylist representing

. Aweys ended up winning a bronze medal, his highest continental award since he started fighting for Somalia. In June 2014, Aweys'

World Taekwondo Federation World Taekwondo, called the World Taekwondo Federation until June 2017, is an international federation governing the sport of taekwondo and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). The ''World Taekwo ...

(WTF) ranking had risen to the 56th best fighter in his weight class. He continues to train in pursuit of more medals.

References

External links

Somali TaekwondoTaekwondo Malley
Living people Somalian male taekwondo practitioners 1987 births {{Somalia-sport-bio-stub