The showmanship that Sasha Zhoya brings to the track, he learned from his idol, Usain Bolt. And like the Jamaican legend, Zhoya also has dreams: “I want to be an athlete that everyone remembers. I want to be the best.” Well, for the 22-year-old hurdler, things have gotten off to a breathtaking start. Being the current holder of U18 and U20 world record times in the 60mH and 110mH, everyone around Sasha Zhoya is anticipating what heights the flamboyant athlete will reach in his career, including his parents.

In his bid to be the world’s best, he has got support from all corners of his life. But first and foremost, it has been his family who has built him up. They have been nurturing and providing him with the right guidance, which has made him such a special prospect now. But what do we know about them? Well, keep reading on to find out!

Who are the parents of Sasha Zhoya? Meet Catherine Larbiose-Zhoya and Yonah Zhoya

“Paris 2024 is a home game, and not many athletes can say that! Just because I represent France, though, doesn’t mean I feel any less Australian or Zimbabwean.” He said this to Redbull.com in September 2023. The question may arise in your mind, what’s with the 3 countries in question? Well, being born to a Zimbabwean father and a French mother gave him the choice to choose from any one of the nationalities. But why Australia, then?

Being born and raised in Subiaco, a suburb of Perth in Australia, meant Australia could have also been his nation of choice to represent in the Olympics. Eventually, Sasha Zhoya went the way of his mother, Catherine Larbiose-Zhoya, who has been an international skier representing France. Speaking to World Athletics in August 2021, the 110m hurdler explained himself: “My dad is from Zimbabwe, my mum is from France, and being raised by a French mother, a lot of the things I was taught when I was younger were French culture.”

In fact, on his trips to his mother’s family home in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Sasha Zhoya learned to ski as a child. Being close to his mother’s family influenced him as a person. “Because my mother is so close to me, there was a part of me that is a little bit more French so it made my decision a little bit easier,” the track and field star told World Athletics. Maybe his father, Yonah Zhoya, being away from him most of his life, also played a part. Yonah has had to spend most of his career, away from his son and wife, in South Africa.

Unable to adopt the Australian way of life, Sasha’s father has been pursuing his music career as an African Music Instructor at the Ridge School, Johannesburg. Before that, he had studied at the Mt. Hampden Art Institute, Harare, Zimbabwe, specializing in African music and instruments. As we will see later, art is a big part of the Zhoya family, even playing a role in making Sasha Zhoya a better athlete.

Representing France at the Paris Olympics and running in the 110mH finals has been a matter of pride and achievement for the athlete, who is still improving. But he has come far already, and his family has played a huge part in it.

How did his parents fuel his Olympic journey? All to know

Zhoya’s mother, Catherine, is such a fangirl for her son. Sasha Zhoya, being a special talent is evident from how many sports he has excelled at. Soccer, basketball, swimming, horse riding, ice skating, ice hockey – you name it. But his track and field story started through his older sister, Munashe. “Everything I have right now, all my success is because of her,” he told World Athletics in 2021. His talent took him towards athletics when he was 8-9 years old, and his mother was his first coach.

In fact, to dabble with a variety of sports from an early age was a conscious decision. As Sasha’s mother would share with Thewest.com, “He (Sasha) could have as many options as possible and to unlock every part of the body.” Another step his mother took was to enroll the track and field prospect into ballet class. For more than a decade, he did a diploma course at the John Curtin College of the Arts Gifted and Talented ballet program. How did it help the Melville Little Athletics product? According to his mother, ballet “helps him understand the precision of his body”, as she said to Thewest.com.

And Sasha Zhoya told World Athletics the benefits dancing has had on him: “It’s training that isn’t very usual but something that could be worked on for other athletes. It works on agility, flexibility which helps a lot with hurdles. A lot of my success comes from dancing. I love the arts—anything on stage.”

In the bid to make the young athlete more perfect, Sasha’s mother would take him to her hometown, Clermont-Ferrand, in 2017. There, the then 15-year-old started training at the Clermont Athlétisme Auvergne athletics club under Philippe d’Encausse for the pole vault. Sasha Zhoya would have to move back and forth between Australia and France for training, and this went on for a few years. But hey, it paid off, didn’t it?

Soon after that, in 2019, Zhoya would break the U18 French pole vault record during the French junior Championships, reaching a height of 5.32m. And not just that. The very next day, he would match the U18 world best time in the 60m hurdles! What’s more impressive? This was the first time Sasha Zhoya was competing in the 60mH event.

His mother has brought many official coaches into the fold to ensure her son got the right coaching. That includes Lindsay Bunn, Francois Juillard, Dimitri Demoniere, and Ladji Doucoure. But she has been ever present in her son’s corner, always looking out for his best interests. And the world is ready to see Sasha Zhoya shine at the Grand Slam Track. He will go up against some of the world’s best. And that means he gets to prove his mettle.