At the age of 15 his family emigrated to the United States, settling in California where he attended college at UC Berkeley, excelling in sports – including triple jump, later narrowly failing qualification for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
When he was fifteen, his family moved to the United States and settled in California. He attended college at UC Berkeley, where he excelled in sports such as triple jump, though he did not qualify for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.