Canning Vale's heart of gold

If acts of kindness were an Olympic sport, Canning Vale Primary School teacher Belinda Johnston would take home the gold medal.

The Year 6 teacher welcomed Yusuf Chotia, Olympic boxer and school alumnus, to speak to her students about his journey and experiences on the path to the Olympics. Yusuf explained how he was never overly successful at school sports, but found his passion by trying something. He also commented on the importance of commitment and hard work.  

“He is an amazing role model to our students with his capacity to deal with triumphs and defeats.” Belinda Johnston said. 

Yusuf returned to the school shortly after the class presentation where he thought he would be addressing the school assembly. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised that Belinda had a few surprises up her sleeve.  

The whole school had donned the national colours of green and gold and with a gold coin donation had raised funds to help with Yusuf’s Olympic travels.  

After Yusuf’s presentation, the school showcased a video they made for him, where the students were shown ‘training’ for the Olympics by doing push-ups, sit-ups, and shadow boxing.  Yusuf’s younger brother featured in the video by running in slow motion and cheering ‘Rocky’ style. The video was followed by a whole-school flash mob dance to ‘Eye of the Tiger’.  

“Yusuf was speechless, and his family was overjoyed, it was an amazing experience for our kids,” Belinda said. 

Yusuf took to Facebook after the event. 

“I’m so grateful, this is by far one of the biggest highlights of my boxing career special thank you to Mrs Johnston and everyone that helped organise this amazing experience.”  

“Having Yusuf at our school has been a highlight of the year for our kids.” Belinda said. “They felt like Yusuf became their best friend.” 

A three-time Australian champion, Yusuf became the 2023 Australian champion by defeating Tarique Hipertur on a points decision at the 2023 Australian Elite Championships & Pacific Games Qualification event. 

In the Men’s 51kg preliminary round of 16, Yusuf faced Spain’s Rafael Lozana Serrano. The Olympic debutant took a winning point from round one.   

But despite the early form, Yusuf faded in the second and third with the judges awarding the final round to the Spaniard.  

"Many of the school community watched the opening ceremony to see him and tuned in to his match,” Belinda said 

We all felt his disappointment but extreme pride in how he competed and how he handled himself after the match. "