The Refugee Olympic Team is hoping to make history at the Paris Games by winning the team's first ever medal. It is the team's third time participating in the Olympics, after it was created in 2016 to raise awareness about the plight of refugees, amid a record number of people fleeing to Europe.
Athletes from Refugee Olympic Team's delegation sail on a boat along the river Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. The Refugee Olympic Team is hoping to make history at the Paris Games by winning the team's first ever medal. It is the team's third time participating in the Olympics, after it was created in 2016 to raise awareness about the plight of refugees, amid a record number of people fleeing to Europe.
At the time, the incoming United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, was asked to support the team and the creation of the Olympic Refuge Foundation."Refugees like any other young people like to compete and win medals and get enthusiastic about being part of the sports community. But it is also a moment in which people that have often lost everything can gain back dignity, identity and give back to the communities hosting them, in this case through athletic performances.
As the team's Chef de Mission, Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Zada says she has been incredibly inspired by all 37 athletes on the team. "We've even got one of the athletes, if you may remember him, Cyrille Tchatchet who carried the flag actually in Tokyo. He was competing in weightlifting. He's joined the team now as our mental health practitioner. So the connection between the Paris team, the Tokyo team, and the Rio team is very strong. And as you know, Yiech Pur Biel, who is in the Rio team is now an IOC member. So all of those connections are there.
"Selection is based on two main criteria, and that's the sporting level, which we look at very closely with all the international federations. And then ensuring that those athletes have their refugee status verified by the UN Refugee Refugee Agency, UNHCR. There's also consideration that needs to be given for the team itself with the diversity; and ensuring that this team represents the global situation and of displacement refugees more broadly.
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