History beacons in Rwandan Beach Volleyball as Jean de Dieu Mukundiyukuri is set to become the first Rwandan referee to handle matches of the Beach Volleyball Olympic Games that will take place in Paris, France, from July 26 to August 11.
Mukundiyukuri's selection on the final list of 16 referees confirmed to officiate the Beach Volleyball in the Paris 2024 Olympics saw him become the first black African referee in this category.
"It's a long journey but it's also fun, it's exciting for me to achieve this milestone after 11 years setting goals, I'm happy that I'll go to the Olympics because it is the biggest sports event in the world. I can't compare it to anything else that has happened to me in this profession,” Mukundiyukuri told Times Sport.
"I am not the first person to officiate international games at the global level, but the Olympic Games are the first and at the African level, I am the second referee overall. So this is not just about me because both the country and the volleyball federation in Rwanda have helped me a lot," he added.
ALSO READ: Beach volleyball: Mukundiyukuri to become first Rwandan World Cup referee
Mukundiyukuri, 35, has been an international Beach Volleyball referee since 2013 and is one of the 24 elites in the world (Elite A) which includes only two Africans.
A former Secretary General of the Rwanda National Olympic Committee, he will also be the youngest of the 16 referees set to handle the Olympics in the Beach Volleyball category.
The most recent Beach Volleyball events that he officiated include the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 Paris Games held from September 24 to October 2, 2023 and the Beach Volleyball World Cup held in Mexico from October 3-15, 2023.
ALSO READ: Our athletes are ready for Tokyo 2020 Games, says Mukundiyukuri
In June 2019, Mukundiyukuri was selected as one of the 16 referees who led the finals of the Beach Volleyball World Cup in Hamburg, Germany, where he participated for the first time.
He started playing Volleyball which he liked when he was young when they used to play mini-Volleyball on a rope back then.
ALSO READ: Rwanda gets second beach V-ball referee
He won various trophies in school competitions when he played with Flavien Ndamukunda and Pierre Marshal Kwizera during their time together at Saint-Joseph in Kabgayi. They won the Inter-school and the FEASSSA Cup held in Kenya, which was the first time Rwanda had won in this competition which brings together schools of East African region.
After a short spell in the beach volleyball career, Mukundiyukuri had a knee problem and quit playing...but didn’t quit the sport. He first attended coaching training but because of his desire to reach the international level, he switched to refereeing.