Caden Cunningham looking ahead to Olympic dream at Paris 2024
As Olympians worldwide are prepping for Paris, we caught up with Team GB taekwondo prospect, Caden Cunningham, who’s looking ahead to making his Olympic debut in the summer, with dreams bigger than most.
Category
🥇
SportTranscript
00:00 Later this year, Paris will become only the second city to host the Summer Olympic Games
00:06 for a third time, replicating the feat of London in 2012.
00:11 The French capital will see Team GB once again attempt to finish in the top four of the medal
00:15 table, something they've achieved in every Summer Games since 2008.
00:21 In Taekwondo, Britain's success has been few and far between.
00:24 They've won nine medals since the sport was introduced onto the Olympic circuit in the
00:28 year 2000.
00:30 And Caden Cunningham of Yorkshire is looking to build on those records this summer.
00:35 "Yeah, the nerves, everyone has their different level of nerves.
00:39 I assumed once I started getting towards the top and I won my first title of something
00:43 and I won the first big comp, that I'd settle.
00:45 But it seems to have only doubled.
00:47 So I assume by the Olympics I'll be just as nervous, if not, well, likely more so.
00:53 But from the competition I'm expecting and hoping it's smoothly run, there's no interruptions,
00:58 there's no problems like that.
01:00 And it's easy to watch for viewers at home.
01:02 But for myself, it's a stage for me to get tight, build Taekwondo for the UK, but also
01:11 like, sort of, earn what I've been working towards for so long and win that gold."
01:17 And obviously only 20 years old, you've got time to get to multiple Olympic Games really
01:22 throughout your career.
01:24 What are your aims for Paris?
01:26 You know, you've mentioned you are high on confidence, but is it a case of just sort
01:30 of test the waters and see what an Olympic Games is all about?
01:33 "Yeah, I'll be trying to take it in as much as I can because of the experience, but I'll
01:42 be very much so there with the mindset of I am the one who's going to become Olympic
01:46 champion on August the 10th."
01:48 "Did you sort of realise that, you know, hold on, I'm actually getting quite good at this
01:52 and it's something that I could maybe make a career out of, make a living off as well?
01:56 You know, were you talent spotted or how did that sort of spiral into where you are today?"
02:02 "So, yeah, my dad's always been into martial arts.
02:07 My brother's tried it a bit as well.
02:10 And then round about when I was 10, 11, I went to a children's international competition
02:14 in Germany and I won that.
02:17 And I was deadly nervous for that because it was foreign people.
02:20 I've never fought outside of Britain before."
02:22 "How sort of are you pleased that it's a place that's quite close to home as well for an
02:27 Olympic Games and it's in a fantastic city to make your debut?"
02:30 "It being in Paris, it's just a little short trip over the water.
02:34 The time difference isn't a lot.
02:37 And yeah, I wouldn't mind wherever it is.
02:38 Any competition I've been to in Paris has been quite well run and there's loads of fans
02:42 and they're very vocal.
02:44 So I think it'll be a good, it's a good place to have a type one competition in."
02:49 A fantastic young athlete readying for his performances in Paris to shine in the record
02:55 books.
02:56 And if the rest of Team GB go in with his brimming confidence, it'll certainly be a
03:01 positive Games for the nation.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]