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00:00Four years after clinching a gold medal for Cuba at the Tokyo Olympics, champion sprint
00:05canoeist Fernando Dajan Jorge Enriquez is gearing up for this year's Games in the French
00:10capital.
00:11This time, though, he will compete as a member of the Refugee Olympic team after fleeing
00:16to the US in 2022.
00:18I left Cuba because I didn't agree with the regime. I didn't agree with its decisions.
00:31And as my career developed, they started involving me in things that I didn't agree with.
00:41Jorge Enriquez managed to cross into the US when the Cuban canoe team travelled to Mexico
00:45City for a training camp. It was a gruelling journey that took more than two weeks. And
00:51after arriving, he was held for a fortnight before being let go, pending a hearing for
00:55his asylum request.
00:57The 25-year-old encourages other athletes to fight to achieve their ambitions.
01:04I never gave up on my dream and it's a message I would like to give to any other athlete.
01:12I never gave up, even though I went through a really hard time in my life. In Miami, I
01:18got up at four in the morning to train. I went to work for eight hours and then I went
01:22home to train again.
01:27This year, the Refugee team is made up of more than 30 athletes from 11 countries.
01:33Jorge Enriquez hopes to participate in the 2028 Games in LA, potentially as part of the
01:38US team.