The younger brother of a terrorists who blew himself up at Brussels’ Zaventem Airport will represent Belgium at the Rio Olympics this summer.
21-year-old Mourad Laachraoui won a gold medal at the European Taekwondo Championships which took place in Montreux, Switzerland.
Laachraoui will be part of the team of 185 Belgian athletes representing the country and will compete in the under 59 kg category in Brazil.
Shortly after it was revealed that Mourad’s brother, Najim Laachraoui, was involved in the attacks, he strongly condemned his brother’s actions.
Mourad said he was "ashamed and sad" of what his brother had done and that his family had no contact with Najim since he left Belgium for Syria two years prior.
"Our family has the same questions you all have," Mourad said. "He used to be a nice, intelligent guy. I couldn't believe it."
"You don't choose your family," he added.
Najim Laachraoui has also been linked to the terror attacks in Paris in November 2015 which killed 130 people.
