From Cameroon to Bingley to Paris, Guillaume Atangana's road back to the Paralympics has been well a travelled but emotional journey.


Atangana will lead the Refugee Team into Wednesday's opening ceremony on the Place de la Concorde, cheered on from his adopted home by fellow members of Bradford Keighley and Skipton Disability Athletics, where he is coached by Janet-Alison Arkwright.


The 25-year-old, known as Junior, fled war-torn Cameroon shortly after he just missed a T11 400m medal three years ago in Tokyo.


Together with close friend and guide runner Donard Ndim Nyamjua, the visually impaired sprinter credits his new support network in Yorkshire for getting him back on the Paralympic start line - a dream he'd started to believe was impossible.


"I remember very well the early days when we arrived in England, it was so difficult," he said.
"Everything was different to what we knew, and I spoke no English, the colder climate was something we also really struggled with. Initially there was not a lot of support, so the Paralympics seemed unlikely.


“We knew no-one and without our papers, we were just in limbo. Everything changed when we came to the club in Bingley, they supported us so much and allowed us to focus on our training. When my guide got injured, they adapted our training sessions, it wasn't easy, but we always believed.


"My biggest lesson is just to always be patient, to trust your talent, work hard, and be disciplined. I really believe that hard work always pays off.


"When I lost my eyesight, I thought that without sport, my life was over. That’s why the day I realised I could continue was a very big day for me. I realised I had to keep doing what I love, and that was the start of becoming a great champion.


"I know what I'm capable of doing, I just hope it's enough to make the podium."


Atangana is part of the largest Paralympic Refugee Team yet in Paris and hopes to become their first ever medallist, just a few weeks after fellow Cameroonian athlete Cindy Ngamba, who now lives in Bolton, won the Olympic Refugee Team’s first medal in women's middleweight boxing.


Atangana and Ndim Nyamjua train at the Princess Mary Stadium in Cleckheaton and share a room in the family home of their assistant coach Val Lightowler, who took them in after they struggled to get to training from their asylum-seeker accommodation.  


"It’s a great honour to be selected to carry this flag, it’s a pleasure for me," he added.


"At the moment I have several loads on my shoulders. Several athletes before me have spoken with their voices and have said we must die for this vest.


"I know we have a very good team. We’ve trained well, we’re supported, we hope to keep feeling good here. We promise to do our best and to, if we can, bring home a gold medal to Yorkshire.


"I feel super excited and ready to start this competition. I’ve been waiting for it for so long, to show what I’m capable of and what refugees can do. That motivates us the most.”


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