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The Refugee Olympic Team Was Created as a "Symbol of Hope"
By Jamie Lee,
17 hours ago
Instagram/@refugeeolympicteam
As all the excitement continues around the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, viewers are curious to learn more about the different teams — including, of course, the Refugee Olympic Team .
Here's what to know about the team, how the initiative came together, and the impressive athletes you can root for as they go for the gold across 12 different sports.
Instagram/@refugeeolympicteam
What is the Refugee Olympic Team?
Back in 2015, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) created an initiative known as the Refugee Olympic Team. The goal was to allow refugees who were forced to flee their countries to still be able to participate in the Olympic games.
"This will be a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world, and will make the world better aware of the magnitude of this crisis," said IOC President Thomas Bach when he announced the team back in 2016. "It is also a signal to the international community that refugees are our fellow human beings and are an enrichment to society."
In the Rio games in 2016, 10 athletes competed for the Refugee Olympic Team. And in the 2020 Tokyo games, the number of athletes on the team jumped up to 29.
For the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, there are a whopping 36 athletes from 11 countries making up the Refugee Olympic Team.
They'll be competing across 12 sports: swimming, athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoe, cycling, judo, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.
This year's Refugee Olympic Team includes athletes from Iran, the Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Syria, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Cuba, and Venezuela.
The Refugee Olympic Team consists of the following athletes:
Adnan Khankan — judo
Alaa Maso — swimming
Amir Ansari — cycling
Amir Rezanejad Hassanjani — canoe slalom
Arab Sibghatullah — judo
Cindy Ngamba —boxing
Dina Pouryones Langeroudi — taekwondo
Dorian Keletela — athletics
Dorsa Yavarivafa — badminton
Eyeru Gebru — cycling
Farida Abaroge — athletics
Farzad Mansouri — taekwondo
Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez — canoe sprint
Francisco Edilio Centeno Nieves —shooting
Hadi Tiranvalipour — taekwondo
Iman Mahdavi — wrestling
Jamal Abdelmaji — athletics
Jamal Valizadeh — Greco-Roman wrestling
Kasra Mehdipournejad — taekwondo
Luna Solomon — shooting
Mahboubeh Barbari Yharfi — judo
Manizha Talash — breaking
Matin Balsini — swimming
Mohammad Amin Alsalami — athletics
Mohammad Rashnonezhad — judo
Muna Dahouk — judo
Musa Suliman — athletics
Nigara Shaheen — judo
Omid Ahmadisafa — boxing
Perina Lokure Nakang — athletics
Ramiro Mora — weightlifting
Saeid Fazloula — canoe sprint
Saman Soltani — canoe sprint
Tachlowini Gabriyesos — athletics
Yahya Al Ghotany — taekwondo
Yekta Jamali Galeh — weightlifting
Getty Images
What does the IOC mean?
The IOC stands for the International Olympic Committee. It's a non-governmental sports organization that is responsible for putting together the Olympic games that we all know and love.
As the IOC says on its website: "A truly global organization, it acts as a catalyst for collaboration between all Olympic stakeholders, including the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, the International Federations, Organising Committees for the Olympic Games, the Worldwide Olympic Partners and Media Rights-Holders. It also collaborates with public and private authorities including the United Nations and other international organisations."
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