Karim Keita: towards a Paris #2024 Olympic Games qualification

Karim needs your support to be able to realise this once in a lifetime opportunity. But this is not just an opportunity for Karim, this qualification in street skateboarding not only celebrates and champions Senegal, for whom he represents, it is also an opportunity for Africa, an adventure which goes beyond a simple sporting performance: Karim who has lived in England, in Senegal and in France embodies a transatlantic cosmopolitan youth, united, and open to the world. Rankings Olympic Ranking, Africa #2 World Olympic Ranking #103 UK Ranking #23 About Karim... Karim Keita is a 19-year-old Anglo-Franco-Senegalese athlete who currently lives and trains near the Medoc coast (close to Bordeaux), where he has strong family and friendship ties. At the age of three, Karim turned his back on the playgrounds and headed for the skateparks, first on BMX and then on scooters. He discovered skateboarding in 2012 and immediately fell in love with this sport, which he has been practicing almost daily ever since. Ten years later, in April 2022, Karim took part in his first national competition - The British Skateboarding Championships, where he ranked 23rd. Karim was recently awarded a Merit for his BTEC Film & TV course at Confetti College in Nottingham. In his spare time he loves to surf, take pictures and compose hip hop beats and prods. Karim is the youngest member of the Senegalese team. He possesses real aptitudes, a fabulous style and he is filled with an unbeatable motivation which make him the young hope for Senegal street skateboarding.. At his first international championship in Rome (June 2022), Karim met all the team's expectations and completed his two runs perfectly, as devised during his training. This now puts him in #2nd position of all African Athletes represented and #103 on the Olympic world ranking. The next challenge The goal for the next International Skateboarding Championship in Rio in October 2022 is to move up ten places in the world Olympic ranking. The final goal is to be amongst the first 50 athletes in the world ranking and the first African athlete by June 2024. The programme An intense and personalised 20-month programme has been devised to give Karim all his chances to qualify. Karim already benefits from a scholarship to cover his trip to Rio but he needs your help to officially kick-start the programme which includes: - physical support: a nutritionist, physiotherapist and osteo specialised for high-level athletes, and a sports trainer for muscle and cardio strengthening ; - technical support: thanks to an analysis of Karim's skate boarding, his coach has set up a development programme, which includes more ambitious and better noted tricks; - strategic support: to develop the capacity to analyse his competition, tricks chosen on the day, better appropriation of the park and a strategy that will lead Karim to offer a skate more likely to be valued by the judges; - emotional support: stress management and the development of self-improvement and self-confidence. His current sponsors Karim is sponsored by the English clothing brand Purple PA, the Anglo-Portuguese brand Banter and the Hélio Surf Club of Montalivet (France, 33)