There was a time when taking two steps was enough to leave Thandor Dlamini breathless. His body had been through months of cancer treatment and a stem cell transplant, and the sport that had shaped so much of his life felt further away than ever.

Today, he is back on the mat, training every day with John Harrison at Wessex Taekwondo Association, and daring to dream of walking out at the LA28 Olympic Games.

For Thandor, this is a journey that reflects so much more than earning the right to compete in the biggest event on Earth. It is about everything he has fought through to get here, the people who stood beside him when the future was uncertain, and the determination to show others that even when life takes you to your lowest point, your dreams do not have to end.

Born in Eswatini, Thandor dedicated himself to Taekwondo at an early age, and has gone on to represent his country at three World Taekwondo Championships, with the most recent of those coming in Manchester in 2019. Following that, he returned to England and joined the British Army, becoming a serving member of the Scots Guards.

His ambition was always to continue competing at the highest level, with his sights initially set on the Tokyo Olympic Games. However, military basic training meant that opportunity would have to wait, and it was through his connection with the Army’s Taekwondo training sessions that he would meet someone who would become a hugely important part of his journey.

John has been instrumental in teaching Taekwondo to the military for over three decades, and first saw Thandor at one of the Army training camps he hosted in Aldershot in 2022. Having watched him train, John immediately recognised that he had experience and ability, and began exploring opportunities to help him develop as an elite athlete within the military, including securing support through the Army’s Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme.

But before those plans could take shape, Thandor had become unwell. John had noticed his athlete’s jaundiced eyes during a competition in July 2022, and after months of hospital appointments and investigations, Thandor was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. What followed was a long and difficult battle that would take him away from the sport he loved for much of the next two years.

Thandor explains: “It took six months to try to get a diagnosis figure out what’s going on.

“They couldn’t find it at first, but it was the 3rd January 2023 when I got told that I’ve got cancer. At first, they told me it’s going to take about three months, then three months turns into four months, five months, six months and a year.”

Treatment was complicated further by a liver problem, and when the initial treatment did not clear the cancer completely, Thandor faced the prospect of a stem cell transplant. It was an enormous physical and emotional challenge, with the recovery leaving him having to rebuild almost everything from the ground up.

“When I did my stem cell transplant, I was told it’s going to take about six months to a year for my body to fully recover. But I was back in within a few months because I love the sport.

“But when I came back, everything was hard. I couldn’t move. Moving two steps was more than enough.

“I was trying to come back and try and give it my best, but there were times where I couldn’t move my body. So I had to actually carry my body through my mind through mental resilience.”

Throughout his treatment, the British Army stood by Thandor, providing the support and care he needed during an incredibly difficult period.

The road back was never going to be straightforward. The physical recovery was only one part of the challenge, with the experience also taking an emotional toll that required patience, understanding and continued support.

With John alongside him, Thandor began rebuilding his strength and fitness, returning to regular training and eventually working with him full time from September 2025. Step by step, session by session, the athlete who had once struggled to move was finding his way back.

He is now competing again, has reclaimed his number one status in Eswatini and is part of the country’s national team. At Wessex Taekwondo Association, he trains every day and helps John teach evening classes, becoming a valued member of the club and an inspiration to those around him.

Having dedicated so much time to supporting military athletes, John’s commitment to coaching has given him the opportunity to share experiences and be part of Thandor’s journey on the international stage. From helping to stage the Eswatini National Championships to Taekwondo tales from Mozambique, South Africa, and more of the African continent, it has been an opportunity to see the sport from a different perspective and create friendships and memories from across the World that will stay with him for a lifetime.

“Thandor is such a positive type of guy and a great inspiration to the people in the club, and when they hear about his story, people just love him to bits,” John said.

“I’m enjoying the challenge. Thandor came in and he had that raw talent, and we’ve been developing his technical ability to help him compete.

“We’re dealing with him physically, but also mentally as well, because obviously with what happened with the cancer, there’s a few gremlins that we’re dealing with emotionally that we’re working through.”

Now, a new chapter is beginning. Thandor is awaiting official confirmation that he has secured a place on the British Army’s Resilience Margin (ReM) programme, which supports elite athletes within the military and gives them the opportunity to focus on their sporting ambitions. The two-year programme will allow him to train full time with John, with the shared goal of qualifying to represent Eswatini at LA28.

Thandor will become the first martial arts athlete to benefit from ReM if he is successful, which has previously supported athletes on their journeys to the Olympic Games. The Army’s backing is particularly significant, helping provide the opportunity to compete internationally and pursue qualification with the knowledge that, should he earn his place, the support will be there to help him reach Los Angeles.

The next stage takes Thandor back to Africa, where he is due to compete at the G-3 President’s Cup and G-2 Solidarity Open in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, in December, with valuable qualification points at stake.

There is still a long road ahead and plenty of work to do, but for someone who has already overcome so much, the chance to chase this dream means everything.

Yet when Thandor talks about LA28, it is clear that his ambition reaches far beyond stepping onto an Olympic mat. He wants his journey to mean something to others, particularly those who may be facing their own battles and wondering whether they can ever return to the things they love.

“The biggest dream of every athlete you could ever come across is to be an Olympian, and it’s not an easy path. It’s tough. It’s challenging. Of course, that’s why you do sports, because it’s challenging and it’s fun.

“My biggest dream isn’t just to qualify and go to the Olympics. For me, my biggest dream is to inspire a lot of people. The Olympics would be amazing, but for me, my dream is to inspire everyone who is coming to do sports.

“For me, this journey is not just for myself. Personally, I’d be happy to achieve those things, but I want people to see that you can go down, nearly die, and still come back and achieve your dreams and achieve bigger things.”

That determination is also rooted in gratitude. Thandor is keenly aware of the people and organisations who have supported him, from the British Army to John and the wider Wessex Taekwondo community, and he sees his return to competition as a chance to give something back.

“I wanted to do this because for me it was a way to say thank you. Thank you to the ministry. Thank you to everybody who supported me, and thank you to British Taekwondo because they believe in what I’m doing.”

His journey has already taken him through experiences that would have been difficult for anyone to imagine, but he has refused to let his diagnosis become the end of his story. Instead, he is using what he has been through to encourage others to find their own strength, take up sport and believe that there is always something worth striving for.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of people who’ve been through a lot in life. Some of them have maybe had a similar sickness, like cancer, and I would like my Olympic journey to inspire even more people to actually come and do sports like Taekwondo.”

From two steps leaving him breathless to training every day, to international competition and Olympic dreams, Thandor’s journey is a testament to the power of resilience, the support of a community and the ability of sport to give people something to fight for.

LA28 is now firmly in his sights. And whatever happens on the road to Los Angeles, Thandor Dlamini is already showing what it means to never give up on a dream. Want to help support Thandor’s journey? Head to GoFundMe to find out more