The heart to fight: Nigerian taekwondo star Elizabeth Anyanacho
21-year-old Elizabeth Anyanacho on qualifying for the 2020 Olympics and how taekwondo taught her the confidence to stand out.
High school track star Elizabeth “Lizzy” Anyanacho was practising sprinting one day at the National Stadium in Abuja when her posture and athletic ability caught the eye of Chika Chukwumerije. Chika, a taekwondo Olympian turned coach, is always on the lookout for new talent and thought Lizzy would be a natural at the sport. When Chika approached her, Lizzy knew little about taekwondo. “I didn't know it was a sport. I just loved watching [martial arts] movies — where you would see taekwondo moves,” she remembers.
(Courtesy of Elizabeth Anyanacho)
Lizzy was intrigued enough to start meeting with Chika to learn more. The summer after she completed her second year of senior secondary school, Lizzy committed to both sprinting and taekwondo, splitting her training in the morning and afternoon. Slowly, she found one sport starting to take centre stage. “I found out that I liked taekwondo more than athletics. I could try so many moves. I could kick and do the turns,” recalls Lizzy.
She was drawn to the intricacies of the sport, how each move she learned built off another. It was a physical and mental sport that required her to use her entire body. She could train almost anywhere and often pick up where she left off, even after taking weeks off training. Lizzy soon quit sprinting altogether.
In the beginning, she focused on building her technique rather than competing. There was a learning curve for Lizzy. Taekwondo moves are in Korean so she spent a lot of time translating words and commands to English. She also studied the sports’ history through videos and conversations with Chika.
After two years of training, Lizzy began to compete and even Chika was surprised by her success on the mat. After watching Lizzy win gold in 2017 at her first major competition, Chika realised that she could be ready for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, rather than wait for the 2024 Paris Olympics as they originally planned. In February, Lizzy qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games, the first Nigerian female taekwondo athlete to make the cut in 16 years. “It was [a] great joy because we achieved one part of the plan that was conceived five years ago,” she says.
Lizzy is grateful for Chika’s mentorship. She describes her coach as a hard worker who will “stand in the gap” for his athletes. Chika’s training approach not only focuses on teaching Lizzy taekwondo but also on other practical subjects, like Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint. Through Chika’s coaching, Lizzy also learned what she describes as the “heart to fight” and to actively listen, two skills that become handy in a sport where matches are only two minutes each and split-second decisions can mean winning or losing.
(Courtesy of Elizabeth Anyanacho)
Before working with Chika, Lizzy explains that she had a tendency to remain quiet in social settings, even when she has something to contribute. Her taekwondo lessons have helped her learn confidence off the mat. Lizzy asks questions in class. She leads in class projects. “He’s really had a big impact on me,” says Lizzy. “He [has] taught me how to stand out in the crowd. He has taught me how to approach [challenging] situations.”
There’s perhaps no more challenging circumstance than the COVID-19 crisis — and having to wait another year to compete in the Olympics. For Lizzy, it will be worth the wait. “It’s a great joy,” she says. “I get to be among one of the persons serving my country.”
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