Team PNG’s Taekwondo team of two athletes arrived safely yesterday afternoon Wednesday, 14th August, at the Jacksons International Airport after representing the country at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both athletes, Gibson Mara and Kevin Kassman debuted in their divisions with Gibson being the first Papua New Guinean to win a round in his division. Kevin Kassman said representing the country at an Olympic level was nothing he had ever experienced before and meeting some of the top athletes from other countries and being amongst them was a very good experience and exposer for him. “It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and I had fun and most of the time spent there was just fun. Getting to know athletes from other countries and just being around them.” Kassman said that being up on that big stage and seeing a big crowd watching him made him nervous but knowing that his fellow countrymen and family were backing him, gave him the courage to stand and represent his country with pride. Meanwhile, Gibson Mara expressed amazement at the high-level of standards at the Olympics and said that with their hard work and preparations put in to get them ready for the Olympics, really paid off. “One challenge too that I faced was knowing that everyone is watching us and that they put their trust that we can make it. And yeah, we did our best and we fell short and that’s maybe with our experience, but we made it.” Upon their arrival, both athletes expressed how grateful and thankful they are for all the support to represent the country at the Olympics and encouraged the upcoming young athletes to keep pushing and striving and to never give up on training. “For up-coming athletes, keep pushing, keep striving. Nothing is impossible, use the negatives and turn them into positives. Cause that’s what you need. They are like steps for you. It took us 2 years and now look at us, its mind blowing,” said Kassman. Mara also expressed similar sentiments. “They must not wait for the competition to come and then start training after a week. Always keep their heads high and keep training hard.”