33-year-old Shilan Shamal Mustafa will become the first Iraqi Kurdish born woman to carry the Olympic torch on Monday, a few days ahead of the competition’s start in Paris.

Shilan will carry the torch, which has traveled from Athens to Paris, on Monday. She is among the last round of torchbearers ahead of the competition.

Born in Diyala province, Shilan is the only daughter of her family with three brothers. At a young age, the family moved around different Iraqi cities for her father's work as a dentist, before migrating to Libya and then to France in 2005. When they arrived in France, she was just 14 years old.

Shilan Shamal Mustafa will be the first #Iraqi #Kurdish woman to carry the Olympic torch from Athens to Paris on July 22#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/LfHmZcg5j3

— The New Region (@thenewregion) July 22, 2024

“Since my childhood, I have been fond of sports. I used to participate in Iraqi school competitions before I traveled, but my dream stopped temporarily when I moved to France, where I became very immersed in studying, learning the language, and working,” Shilan told The New Region.

She later pursued a degree in industrial design engineering in France. French schools provided her with opportunities to learn different sports such as rugby, climbing, running, handball, and table tennis. It was Taekwondo however, to which she dedicated herself.

After a few years of training, Shilan decided to establish the first Taekwondo club in her town. The young immigrant woman became responsible for the town’s sports club alongside a French coach.

“The number of players who have joined the club has reached more than forty. We train them and prepare them for local tournaments and include them in official and international teams,” she said.

Shilan was officially asked by the town’s municipality to be nominated as one of this year’s Olympic torchbearers.

“They asked me if I would accept the nomination, and I was very happy to do so,” she said, adding that as an Iraqi immigrant, she was able to do something for herself in the world of exile and received support.

Shilan soon received good news from the Olympics team.

“Please report to the designated location at nine in the morning of the 22nd of July. You will carry the Olympic torch and run with it,” she was told.

The Olympic games start on July 26 in Paris and continue until August 11.