As the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro was approaching, senior and Taekwondo second-degree Black Belt holder, Marco Cajamarca wanted to be heard by his peers and be known as the only Niles West student to actually compete in the Olympics.

Cajamarca soon began telling his classmates that he had made the Olympic trials and was training tirelessly every day. But three days before the Olympics started, Cajamarca posted on the Class of 2017 Facebook page that going to the Olympics was simply “a joke.”

“I qualified for the 2016 Olympic trials, but lost my second match,” he said. “I didn’t want to be seen as a failure by my friends, so telling them that I had qualified seemed like the best decision at the time.”

Some students said his actions were “petty” and “pointless.”

“Absolutely unnecessary for someone to make up a lie, go at it for months, then cry about it when his classmates tease him,” senior Kosta Hatzopoulos said.

Senior David Apple said Cajamarca took the joke too far.

“Ever since December of 2015, Marco has been talking about going to Rio and competing, so everyone was convinced that he was definitely going,” he said.

Cajamarca’s explanation for his actions were certainly not a cry for help, it was more of a “give me a chance.” He then went on to say that he had been seen as a failure in his high school athletics career, so making the Olympics trials in Taekwondo would revive that feeling.

“I wanted to prove to them that although I wasn’t able to make the basketball team the past years, that I could still be good at something,” he said. “There were some that supported me, and some who didn’t. But that was their choice to make. I have moved past this, and I hope that the class of 2017 can as well.”

Although most of Cajamarca’s peers felt that his publicity stunt was uncalled for, a close friend, senior Kosti Kalaras had a different outlook on Cajamarca’s story.

“I think everyone is just tossing jokes around, no one really means any of it,” he said. “I definitely don’t support his decision in doing such thing, but I would definitely step in if anyone crosses the line and says anything hurtful to him.”

Cajamarca said he will continue to practice and perfect his Taekwondo skills.