Long Beach's Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez wins double wrestling gold at African Championships

Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez has dominated New York State high school wrestling for five years. The Long Beach senior placed five times in the state tournament, winning three Division I championships.

Now he’s had international impact.

Sibomana-Rodriguez became the first Congolese wrestler in history to win gold in the U20 freestyle African Championships Thursday in Alexandria, Egypt.

Competing at 125.5 pounds (57 kg) he reeled off four straight wins, outscoring his opponents, 33-1. It was pure dominance. He capped the tournament with an 11-1 win by technical fall over Algerian National champion Abderrezak Chenini.

Sibomana-Rodriguez wasn’t finished leaving his mark in Egypt.

As if one record-setting gold medal wasn’t enough, how about two!

On Saturday, he doubled his pleasure with an elite performance in the Senior division (unlimited age), taking on opponents much older than him. There, he won three consecutive bouts.

Sibomana-Rodriguez beat Roland Tambi Nforsong of Cameroon, a three-time African Senior Medalist and a 2024 runner-up, in the final. Sibomana-Rodriguez gained the first takedown against his 32-year-old opponent and proceeded to score on four straight gut wrenches to go on to a 10-0 win by technical fall in 51 seconds.

The victory put the polish on a 3-0 record and drew the adulation of the crowd which chanted his name. After his hand was raised, he cloaked himself in the flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and took a lap around the mat. Encouraged by his father, he then performed his signature cartwheel into a back flip. The Congolese team consumed him off the mat with singing, dancing and congratulations.

“They are calling him King Dunia — the King of Africa,” said his father, Miguel Rodriguez.

“He won double African Championship freestyle gold. No one has ever won a gold medal and he won two. He is representing his country and is humbled by the love and respect they have shown him since we arrived to join the Congolese team.”

It has been a whirlwind experience for Sibomana-Rodriguez and his father. On Monday, they took an 11-hour flight from New York to Turkey and then boarded a two-hour flight from Turkey to Egypt. The time change — seven hours later than the eastern time zone.

“We had to get used to the time change,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said.

“The trip was tiring but I needed the workouts to get my weight down and get ready. We [Congolese team] practiced three times a day. And the international freestyle is a little different than what I’m used to. I figured it out quickly.”

The goal for Sibomana-Rodriguez is to represent the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

“It is a lifelong dream for me,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said. “I left my country because of a life-changing tragedy. Now I want to return to my country of birth and proudly represent them on the international stage as a World Team member. This is a big step.”

“I’m in this position because of the love and support of my family, and the Long Island community that helped us raise the money needed to get to Egypt,” he added.

“This opportunity doesn’t happen without the generosity of so many people, and I want to say thanks. I have the chance to inspire people and do something special. And I can also have an impact on my people in my homeland and make them proud.”

At the age of six years old, Sibomana-Rodriguez was playing just outside his village of Rutshuru in the jungle of the Virunga National Park, a vast animal preserve in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa, when a troop of chimpanzees attacked him and two family members. His brother and cousin were killed in the attack.

Sibomana-Rodriguez survived but was left with horrific injuries to his lips, ears and face. His right ear and facial muscles were gone and the middle finger on his left hand was bitten off. The attack made it difficult for him to speak or swallow.

Sibomana-Rodriguez was brought to the United States in December 2015, by a New York-based, non-profit surgical care program at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital where a team of surgeons began his care.

Dr. Alexander Dagum, the executive chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Stony Brook Medicine and Dr. Leon Klempner an associate professor of dentistry at the Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine and the founder of the nonprofit organization Smile Rescue Fund for Kids teamed to care for Sibomana-Rodriguez.

“His is an inspiring story of courage and perseverance,” said Long Beach coach Ray Adams. “He’s a humble kid loved by everyone. He wants to make an impact in this world and I believe he will. He has dreams and he’s writing the next chapter.”

In the Senior Division tournament, Sibomana-Rodriguez found the competition different, older, slicker and much stronger. These were men not high school boys.

He pushed the distance for the first and only time all week in a battle against two-time Senior Arab gold medalist, Alaa Ali Sheba Elsayed, of the host country. He won 3-2 to advance to the semifinal round.

“The Senior tournament was much tougher,” Sibomana-Rodriguez said. “I had to prepare more angles for my attack, and I needed to be slick with these opponents. It wasn’t all muscle, but it was more technical.”

With the wrestling complete, Sibomana-Rodriguez was invited to meet with the president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Sunday. They also plan to visit the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt.

“Everyone in Africa knows Dunia’s story,” Miguel Rodriguez said. “He’s been all over the news. He’s felt the fans energy in the stadium. These are his people — he’s home in the Congo — it’s incredible.”

Early in 2027 Sibomana-Rodriguez will travel to Kinshasa, the capitol of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“He’s qualified to wrestle in the Olympic trials,” Miguel Rodriguez said. “The best is yet to come.”

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.