Cameroon judoka Dieudonne DOLASSEM is not necessarily a name that stands out on first glance of the -90kg category this weekend at the Marrakech Grand Prix.

When you’re scanning through the -90kg field you can immediately identify the top seeds, former world champions and local hopes, but if you delve a little bit deeper then you realise that DOLASSEM has a story worth sharing. The veteran is in fact the oldest judoka active on the IJF circuit at 39 years old and has no intentions of slowing down. “My age is just a number to me,” said the London 2012 Olympian. DOLASSEM, who turns 40 in September, lost his first contest on Sunday against the little-known Yersultan MUZAPPAROV (KAZ) in golden score by ippon but remained upbeat about his Olympic ambitions. “I’m driven by Tokyo 2020 dream, that is my motivation, it’s a long dream of mine to fight in the home country of judo. “I’ve never fought in Japan and it’s something every judoka aims for. I also aim to win the African Championships. I have 15 medals from the continental competition but I’m still searching for a gold medal.”