Sorel-Arthur Kembe

Early life

Sorel-Arthur Kembe was born on 5 November 1975 in Budapest, Hungary to a Congolese father – who had come to Hungary for studies on printing – and a Hungarian mother from Magyarbánhegyes. In 1987, when he was 12 years old, he started to fence at Budapesti Honvéd SE, coached by , a former Hungarian fencing champion, whose son, , a former European junior fencing champion, was Sorel-Arthur's fencing partner. From 1987 to 1990, he lived with his mother in Paris, France, in an Arab neighbourhood where fights constantly happened in the playground. Speaking to Békés Megyei Hírlap, Kembe said: "But I have to thank that for teaching me how to fence, because they were always trying to beat me up." His father enrolled him in a fencing school away from their apartment due to his hyperactivity. He often visits Békés County where his maternal grandparents and cousin live.