Jonathan Lourimi: Winter Youth Olympic medallist wants to make more history for Tunisia

Two years ago, 17-year-old Tunisian athlete Jonathan Lourimi did not know what bobsleigh was, living his life like any other teenager and playing football for a local team in his city.

However, everything changed when he received a call asking him to join a list of promising athletes from countries with little to no snow, to train in winter sports with the aim of competing internationally and eventually joining the next Winter Olympic Games.

That one call led Lourimi to earn Tunisia’s first ever Winter Youth Olympics medal in Gangwon South Korea last month – making history as one of the first African and Arab athletes to achieve such a result at the Games.

Speaking to The National from his home in Stockholm – only a few weeks after his win – Lourimi described the sensational feeling he had when he realised that he is now an Olympic medal-winner.

“I still can’t believe it, when I look back, and that feeling when I went through the finish line and realised that I’ve done it and got a medal, it was an amazing feeling,” he recalled.

Lourimi took home the silver medal after finishing 1.33 seconds behind winner So Kaehwan of South Korea and followed by Chi Xiangyu from China. Lourimi said he was even more overwhelmed when he saw the reaction not only of his family and the Tunisian Olympic Committee but also that of non-Tunisian fans and competitors who were genuinely happy for him.

“Everybody was happy for Tunisia because it was a small country and wanted to lift it up,” he added.

Lourimi described his journey towards the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics as a “crazy” one.

“It’s a crazy story, two years ago I did not know what bobsleigh was, I had heard of it but I did not know what it was and how you compete in it,” he explained.

“I