The Francophone Taekwondo World Cup witnessed the rise of a champion. It was a match between 14-year-old Caroline Maher from Egypt and the 20-year-old reigning world champion from the Philippines. Since she was the youngest player in the Championship, as well as the entire federation, there were minimal expectations from coaches and fans. Caroline didn’t come into the match with that mindset, however. Because she was determined to do her best, no matter her opponent, she decided to do the triple kick, one of the most difficult techniques in taekwondo. The successful kick surprised the audience as well as the judge panel who awarded Caroline three points. Her victory in this match made her feel as though her childhood dream of competing in the Olympics was within reach.
Caroline’s parents believed that she would be a great champion, and they took her passion seriously. They also expected her to excel academically, and she proved to be successful at both. She continued to train professionally three times a day and maintained her excellent academic performance. “It was a non-stop journey seeking my dreams,” she says. “I was sometimes so stressed, but that never stopped me as my dream was worth the effort.”
After being admitted into the American University in Egypt, the country’s most prestigious university, Caroline was under a lot of pressure to keep up with her studies amid her busy training schedule. “It was so tough that I sometimes thought about quitting a lot along the road,” she remembers, “yet, every time I had an inner voice telling me to continue my journey and my lifetime dream—the Olympic medal.” During this time, Caroline was selected as one of the Top Ten Best Athletes in Egypt for three consecutive years. She also placed fifth in the Women’s World Taekwondo Championship and won first place in both the African and Arab Championship. Despite these successes, Caroline was denied the opportunity to be a member of both the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams.
In 2011, after participating in the African Olympic Qualification Championships, Caroline was surprisingly notified by the federation that her doping test results were positive. “I could never forget that moment,” she says. “I knew something was wrong, as I am a very ethical player and do commit to the fair play rules. At that moment, I felt like all of my effort, my childhood sacrifice, went to waste, and I might never achieve my Olympic goal. I had never done that, but who would believe me and how would I prove it. I was just an athlete and they have so much power. To them, I was just a player, but to me, it cost me my life.”
It was later discovered that Caroline’s sample had a serial number that was different from that of the positive result. She told the Egyptian Taekwondo Federation about this mistake, and they informed the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). She thought the problem was over and was preparing for the Arab and African championships, but she found out that the WTF had banned her for two years.
This was the toughest time of her life, and Caroline knew that if she didn’t advocate for herself, no one would. She began proceedings to sue the WTF before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. Together with her mom, she studied international law and hired an outstanding sports attorney who took her case. Caroline’s lawsuit was brought before CAS, and the lab report, which questioned the integrity of the collection of the sample, proved that the sample containing steroids was not hers. After seven agonizing months, the CAS finally ruled in her favor, ordering the highest compensation in the history of doping cases, $20,000 for litigation fees, and she became the first athlete in history to win a case against the powerful World Taekwondo Federation at the CAS. “Apparently, they did not expect a woman from a developing country to stand up to that organization,” she says, “but they did not know who I was. After what I had gone through over the years to make a name for myself as one of the world’s finest Taekwondo athletes, I was not about to lose it for a serious error of a mixed-up sample on the part of the World Federation.”
During the months following the lawsuit, Caroline was still practicing Taekwondo every day on her own with the belief that she would win the case and have an opportunity to attend the London Olympic Games in 2012. Yet again, she wasn’t selected for the Olympics. This time, the reason was that she didn’t train with the national team for the previous seven months. Though it was due to the WTF’s mistake, they would not make an exception for her case. Caroline was shocked as she realized that her dream of competing in the Olympics was over.
“Success is a journey, not a destination,” Caroline says. “Maybe, if I could have joined the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, I wouldn’t have the experience and the lessons that I had for all those years. The lessons of persistence, of hard work, dignity, and bravery. I did my best for my goal, there is nothing else I could have done and nothing to regret. Live your best to the very end. Even if you don’t achieve the dream you set for yourself, you will achieve a lot throughout. You should never, ever give up!”
Caroline Maher was the first African female to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Through the years of her athletic career, she represented Egypt in global contests, gaining more than 130 trophies in 38 countries for various Regional, Arab, African, International, and Francophone World Cup Championships. According to the WTF, Maher ranked third in 2009, sixth in 2010, and eleventh in 2011, as worldwide champion. Caroline also won several awards for outstanding academic and athletic achievement in school and University. In addition, she was selected among Egypt’s top ten athletes for three successive years by the Ministry of Sports.
Caroline retired from Taekwondo in 2015 and earned her master’s degree in Business Administration from Victoria University in Switzerland, and turned her focus from competing to fighting for the rights of others. Because of her advocacy efforts, Caroline was chosen to be part of the 2015 Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP). Mentored by Ketchum Sports & Entertainment, she learned innovative ways to increase the visibility of womens’ sports and through different media platforms. Through this program, she also gained a network of like-minded advocates for social change who helped her build an action plan to empower and change the lives of people with disabilities through sport.
In December of the same year, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appointed her to the Egyptian parliament, making her the youngest ever appointed Member of Parliament (MP) in Egypt’s history. As an appointed MP, she pushed for legislation and proposed seven bills to protect marginalized groups, and a law to prevent violence against animals. Moreover, she proposed the first ever law for extended support and protection for orphans until the age of 25 in Egypt. Caroline’s vision is to empower every society stakeholder to play their part in ensuring social justice and invest strategically in building a more just and equitable world. She was chosen in the UN global campaign “Women of Achievement,” which highlights the successes of the 30 Most Influential Women Worldwide.
Caroline currently serves as an advisor and ambassador for non-profit organizations focusing on empowering orphans and people with disabilities. From 2016 to 2019, she served as a committee member in the Youth Committee at the National Council for Women. In addition, Caroline is the youngest board member in both the African and Arab Taekwondo Unions and has been appointed to the Women’s Committee in the World Taekwondo Federation. She has received several awards and fellowships recognizing her community work and outstanding achievements.
