Refugee Olympic Team at the Olympics

The Refugee Olympic Team is a group made up of independent Olympic participants who are refugees. In March 2016, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world in order to raise global awareness of the scale of the migrant crisis in Europe. In September 2017, the IOC established the Olympic Refugee Foundation to supporting refugees over the long term.[1][2]

Refugee Olympic Team at the
Olympics
Athletes compete under the Olympic flag.
IOC codeEOR
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer appearances

The Olympic flag and the Olympic Hymn are used as team symbols. The participating athletes marched in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the team entering the stadium as the penultimate delegation, just before the host country. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, the team entered the stadium second only to Greece.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics, the team used the IOC country code ROT, but at the 2020 Summer Olympics this was changed to EOR for French Équipe olympique des réfugiés. As of 2022, no refugee Olympic athletes had participated in the Winter Olympic Games.

The team was awarded the 2022 Princess of Asturias Award for Sport for giving athletes the opportunity in conflict zones and places where human rights are violated, preventing them from performing their sporting and personal activities.[3]

Participations

This category was created in March 2016. The selection criteria include the sporting level, the official refugee status verified by the United Nations, the personal situation, and the background of each athlete.

2016 Summer Olympics
Main article: Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Athlete Country of origin Host NOC Sport Event
James Chiengjiek South Sudan KenyaAthletics400 m
Yiech Biel South Sudan KenyaAthletics800 m
Paulo Lokoro South Sudan KenyaAthletics1500 m
Yonas Kinde Ethiopia LuxembourgAthleticsMarathon
Popole Misenga Democratic Republic of Congo BrazilJudo90 kg
Rami Anis Syria BelgiumSwimming100 m butterfly
Rose Lokonyen South Sudan KenyaAthletics800 m
Anjelina Lohalith South Sudan KenyaAthletics1500 m
Yolande Mabika Democratic Republic of Congo BrazilJudo70 kg
Yusra Mardini Syria GermanySwimming100 m butterfly

2020 Summer Olympics
Main article: Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Summer Olympics

At its meeting in Buenos Aires in October 2018, the International Olympic Committee decided to establish the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) for the 2020 Summer Olympics. This decision built on the legacy of the Refugee Olympic Team in 2016 and was part of the IOC's commitment to play its part in addressing the global refugee crisis and in carrying the message of solidarity and hope to millions of refugee athletes around the world.

The IOC Session tasked Olympic Solidarity with establishing the conditions of participation and defining the team identification and selection process. These elements were carried out in close collaboration with the National Olympic Committees, the International Sports Federations, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). On 20 June 2019, the IOC released the list of Refugee Athlete Scholarship holders who wished to join the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, Tokyo 2020. This announcement was made on World Athlete Day, celebrated every year on 20 June.

The 46 Refugee Athlete Scholarship holders include the 10 athletes who were part of the first Refugee Olympic Team in 2016, new individual athletes, and a group of athletes preparing at the Tegla Loroupe Refugee Training Center in Kenya. They compete in nine sports. All were assisted by Olympic Solidarity as part of its support program for refugee athletes. Hailing from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, South Sudan, Sudan, and Syria, refugee scholarship holders competed in athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Athlete Country of origin Host NOC Sport Event
Alaa Maso Syria GermanySwimming50 m freestyle
Yusra Mardini Syria GermanySwimming100 m butterfly
Dorian Keletela Congo PortugalAthletics100 m
Rose Lokonyen South Sudan KenyaAthletics800 m
James Chiengjiek South Sudan KenyaAthletics800 m
Anjelina Lohalith South Sudan KenyaAthletics1500 m
Paulo Amotun Lokoro South Sudan KenyaAthletics1500 m
Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed Sudan IsraelAthletics5000 m
Tachlowini Gabriyesos Eritrea IsraelAthleticsMarathon
Aram Mahmoud Syria NetherlandsBadmintonMen's singles
Wessam Salamana Syria GermanyBoxing63 kg
Eldric Sella Venezuela Trinidad and TobagoBoxing75 kg
Saeid Fazloula Iran GermanyCanoeingK-1 1000 m
Masomah Ali Zada Afghanistan FranceCyclingTime Trial
Ahmad Wais Syria  SwitzerlandCyclingTime Trial
Sanda Aldass Syria NetherlandsJudoMixed team
Ahmad Alikaj Syria GermanyJudoMixed team
Muna Dahouk Syria NetherlandsJudoMixed team
Javad Mahjoub Iran CanadaJudoMixed team
Popole Misenga DR Congo BrazilJudoMixed team
Nigara Shaheen Afghanistan RussiaJudoMixed team
Wael Shueb Syria GermanyKarateKata
Hamoon Derafshipour Iran CanadaKarateKumite
Luna Solomon Eritrea  SwitzerlandShooting10 m air rifle
Dina Pouryounes Iran NetherlandsTaekwondo49 kg
Kimia Alizadeh Iran GermanyTaekwondo57 kg
Abdullah Sediqi Afghanistan BelgiumTaekwondo68 kg
Cyrille Fagat Tchatchet II Cameroon United KingdomWeightlifting96 kg
Aker Al-Obaidi Iraq AustriaWrestling67 kg

See also

References
  1. "IOC Refugee Olympic Team". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  2. "Refugee Olympic Team to Shine Spotlight On Worldwide Refugee Crisis". International Olympic Committee. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. "Refugee Olympic team awarded prestigious Spanish prize". The Washington Post. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
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