Powder Springs Student Headed to Rio Olympics

POWDER SPRINGS, GA — After the phone call came, Aniya Louissant couldn't stop crying.

"My dad thought something really bad had happened, that something was wrong," the 18-year-old Powder Springs student said.

"When she finally composed herself, she said, 'Daddy, we're going to the Olympics!'" said Richard Louissaint, her father.

Anyia will represent Haiti in the Rio Summer Olympics after just four years of practicing taekwondo. A welterweight, she the first female ever to represent Haiti in the sport of taekwondo.

Though she was born in the U.S., she is permitted to compete for the Haitian team because her father is from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Although Aniya did not qualify when she competed at the Olympic Trials in Mexico, she was awarded a wild card by the Tripartite Commission, making her one of two females in the world to receive this invitation.

Aniya recently graduated from the Georgia Cyber Academy (GCA). She made the switch from a regular school to the online school to accommodate what became a busy training and competition schedule.

Aniya trains with her dad in Powder Springs at least four hours a day, but a couple months out of the year she trains with her team, Styles United, in South Windsor, CT. She also travels around the world throughout the year for competitions, a schedule she says she would never have been able to maintain without the GCA.

“I worked with my teachers a lot to let them know what competitions I had coming up,” she said. “They were always willing to work with me – if I wasn’t sure of certain materials because of training, they were more than willing to come before or after class for me. If it wasn’t for GCA, I wouldn’t have been able to travel to meets, which ultimately helped me improve my standing.”

Neither Aniya or her father are concerned about security. "We've been told the military will be there and everything will be safe," Richard said, while Aniya added, "I'll be facing world-class competitors, and I know I won't be able to run through the competition. Taekwondo has shaped my character in many ways, and I've had to sacrifice a lot for the sport.

"I've trained long and hard for this."

A GoFundMe campaign has also been started to help Aniya with her expenses. Click here to learn more.

Images: Aniya Louissaint