Cyrille Tchatchet II
Cyrille Tchatchet II
Cyrille Tchatchet II
Cyrille Tchatchet II
Cyrille Tchatchet II has been supporting UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency since September 2020.
Cyrille arrived in the UK in 2014 and ended up in the southern coastal town of Brighton, where he was street homeless. He describes these experiences as being his lowest and most difficult. He even contemplated giving up completely. As he waited for his asylum claim to be assessed, he credits two things with helping him keep going: the care he received from local doctors and nurses who supported him; and his passion for weightlifting. Once he received refugee status, he was eager to begin rebuilding his life and sporting career.
Now, Cyrille holds a wealth of achievements under his belt, including three-time British Weightlifting Champion and multiple national records broken. Cyrille made history competing as part of the IOC’s Refugee Olympic Team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, finishing 10th in his category. He was one of six athletes specially selected to carry the Olympic Rings into the Olympic stadium. These accomplishments are backed by years of training at Middlesex University Gym, which he frequented whilst studying Mental Health Nursing. Having graduated with a first-class degree, he now leads a team of nurses in a London NHS hospital.
In 2022, Cyrille secured his UK citizenship and is now a member of Team GB. He will be competing at the European championships in May 2022 and the Commonwealth Games in August 2022.
“I now work as a senior mental health practitioner at an NHS trust in Oldbury. I studied nursing to give back to the community that supported me. Hope will not only give you the courage to fight, but also promote your mental wellbeing.”
“My message to other refugees is to believe, to be hopeful,” he said. “Today might be difficult but the future might be brighter.”