For Swedish long jumper Khadijatou “Khaddi” Sagnia, sport has always been a family affair. The youngest of eight, Khaddi followed in her siblings’ footsteps, playing basketball, soccer, boxing, karate before eventually landing on athletics when she was 13.
Three years later, she qualified to represent Sweden at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010 — and surprised even herself when she won gold in the triple jump.
“That was one of the best experiences in my life,” she recalled. “I wasn’t the gold favorite. I just thought, don’t expect much and do whatever you’re good at.”
Khaddi has since competed in the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. She currently holds the Swedish record indoors in the long jump.
Giving 100 percent
Listening to a mix of Portuguese and Swedish hip-hop, Khaddi trains twice a day in her hometown in Sweden. Her mom, Sutay, who was born in Gambia but raised in Sweden, lives just five minutes away in the city of Gothenburg, as do most of her siblings, nieces and nephews.
“My mom has always inspired me since I was young,” said Khaddi. “She's been working really, really hard. For me, seeing that while growing up, it's something that I had with me to always work hard and work toward a goal despite maybe something not going well in your life.”
Facing challenges is part of life. For an athlete, the biggest challenge can be an injury. Recovering from ACL reconstruction surgery, Khaddi questioned whether it was the injury that would hold her back for good.
“Every time I went to training, the pain would start, so it was just a negative cycle, and I thought, ‘I don't know if I can do this anymore,” she said.
But it ultimately came down to following a dream not yet fully realized.
“I want to make sure that before I stop, I want to give my hundred percent and do whatever I need to do to be able to bring the best out of myself.”
One of the chosen ones
Khaddi joins more than 100 other athletes around the globe as part of Team Visa this summer, with more than 400K fans on social media — many who have cheered her on since the beginning of her career.
“For me, it's really important the people you have around you, like fans and family,” she said. “This is a huge honor because a lot of people are behind us. For me, going to the Olympic Games and representing my country, I represent all of the people,” she said.
Even at the elite level, nerves can sometimes get in the way of athletic goals. For Khaddi, no matter if it's a local competition or if it's the Olympic Games, “I do get nervous, really, really nervous.”
She works with a mental coach to focus on being present and living in the moment, to acknowledge her fears, but leave them where they are so she can focus on competing. Each Olympic Games has felt like an extraordinary experience.
“This is something that most athletes don't qualify for, so I consider myself as one of the chosen ones,” she said. “That brings me so much joy because it also symbolizes all the hard work that I've been doing, despite all the obstacles, all the hard things that have been coming my way.”