Muna Dahouk

Syrian judoka (born 1995)

Muna Dahouk
Personal information
Born (1995-08-27) 27 August 1995 (age 28)[1]
Damascus, Syria
OccupationJudoka
Sport
CountryRefugee Olympic Team
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍57 kg, ‍–‍63 kg
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesR32 (2020, 2024)
World Champ.R32 (2023)
European Champ.R32 (2023, 2024)
Profile at external databases
IJF55514
JudoInside.com140766
Updated on 29 July 2024

Muna Dahouk (Arabic: منى دهوك; born 27 August 1995) is a judoka from Syria who competed at the 2020 Olympic Games as part of the IOC Refugee Team.

Early life

She started judo in Damascus when she was six years old.[2] Her father was a judo teacher and her sister, Oula, also competes. After the civil war broke out, their father was killed.[3] In 2019, she fled Syria and joined her mother in the Netherlands, and settled in s-Hertogenbosch.[4][5]

Career

Dahouk competed at the 2019 Budapest Grand Prix, the 2020 Paris Grand Slam and the 2020 Düsseldorf Grand Slam.[1][2]

Dahouk was selected as part of the IOC Refugee Team in June 2021.[6] She competed at the 2020 Olympic Games in the Women's 63 kg and the Mixed team events.[2] In the individual event she faced 2019 Pan American Games champion Maylín del Toro Carvajal.[3]

Dahouk took part in the 2023 European Judo Championships in Montpellier.[7]

She is competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as part of the Refugee Olympic Team. She told CBS that she wants to use her platform as a refugee athlete to break down stereotypes and challenge misconceptions about refugees: "I will represent the refugees around the world – to show people what the refugees can do. We are not weak people. We can be athletes, we can be students, we can be anything we want."[5]

Personal life

She is the cousin of fellow judoka Sanda Aldass.[8] She graduated from a commercial and banking institute in Syria and later studied sport in the Netherlands.[2] She features in the Waad Al-Kateab documentary We Dare to Dream.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Muna Dahouk". Judo Inside. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Muna Dahouk". Olympics.com. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Muna Dahouk makes Olympic bow for IOC Refugee Olympic Teams". Olympics.com. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  4. ^ "MUNA'S JOURNEY FROM DOUBT TO DETERMINATION". Klabu.org. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b Smolinski, Paulina (26 July 2024). "What is the IOC refugee Olympic team and who is on it for the 2024 Games?". CBS News. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  6. ^ Berkeley, Geoff (8 June 2021). "Six refugee judokas "living our dream" after Tokyo 2020 selection". Inside the Games. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  7. ^ "IJF REFUGEE TEAM: ON THE ROAD TO PARIS". eju.net. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  8. ^ "The separated refugees brought back together by judo". BBC News. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  9. ^ "We Dare to Dream". Klabu. Retrieved 9 April 2024.