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.
At fifteen, his family emigrated to the United States, settling in California where he pursued higher education at UC Berkeley, excelling in sports – including triple jump, narrowly missing qualifying for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.