Taekwondo silver medalist Mahama Cho teaches Manchester kids how to overcome bullying

  • Report by Dan Salisbury-Jones

A taekwondo silver medalist is teaching children in Manchester how to beat the bullies.

Mahama Cho has been speaking at a school in Gorton to share his experience of growing up in difficult times.

Mahama Cho's path to becoming an Olympian is littered with disappointment and at times moments of cruelty.

The Team GB star spoke no English when he first emigrated to London as an eight-year-old from Ivory Coast. He says that little boy was then made to feel like an alien.

A young Mahama Cho when he arrived from the Ivory Coast

Now he's shared his experience with children at Cedar Mount Academy in Gorton, collaborating with Youth Sport Trust, to show them what is possible, even when you have been made to feel so vulnerable.

Mahama says taekwondo saved him from the sort of fights that could've got him in trouble. He's gone on to represent Team GB in the sport twice at the Olympics in both Rio and Tokyo.

It's also brought him to Manchester, where the national squad train and where the European Championships will take place in May.

Mahama hopes that by showing optimism in the face of adversity, no matter what you're going through, you can still picture a successful future.