The team was established to provide hope and highlight the global refugee crisis
Away from motherlands owing to different sorts of conflicts, a team of 37 refugees are set to compete in 12 different events at the Olympic Games 2024. Hailing from conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Sudan and others, the team was established to provide refugees an opportunity to be a part of the global event where they can not only show their sporting mettle but also raise their voices and represent the issues of their motherland.
Recently, Cindy Ngamba, a boxer from Cameroon and the flag bearer of the Refugee Olympic Team said, "We are not just referees; we are athletes. People see us as referees, but forget we are athletes with the same goals as the other countries. We can achieve the same thing, win, have the same disease and energy."
Ahead of the flag-off, let us run through some of the top athletes in the refugees’ team.
VIDEO: Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez, a champion sprint canoeist who fled his native Cuba three years ago, will head to the Paris Olympics as a member of the Refugee Olympic Team. pic.twitter.com/NRWgKjChFQ
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 12, 2024
Fernando Dayan Jorge Enriquez is a sprint canoeist from Cuba. Made his Olympic debut in Rio 2016, he won the gold medal in the men's C-2 1000 metres category at Tokyo 2020. He started training in canoeing in 2015 and in 2016, he participated with Serguey Torres in the Pan American Championships. They finished sixth in the 2016 Olympics. In March 2021, Jorge defected from the Cuban national team over political and economic issues during training in Mexico. He crossed to the U.S. via the Rio Grande and settled in Cape Coral, Florida. There, he juggled training for a maintenance job.
Manizha Talash fled Afghanistan, but not because she feared the Taliban — she wanted to pursue her dream and breakdance.
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) July 18, 2024
Now, she will participate in the Paris Games on the Refugee Olympic Team. https://t.co/iFm5eSNkMV pic.twitter.com/fbq79Du7Jy
Manizha Talash is a 21-year-old breakdancer from Afghanistan. Currently, she is training in Spain for the Paris 2024 Olympics and will participate in breaking, also known as breakdancing to make her official debut. When a militant group regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Talash was among the few Afghans who were evacuated to Spain. Before fleeing her home country, she had developed a passion about the sport when she watched a few videos online and joined a dance club in Kabul. She trained in secret until her move to Spain, often facing threats given the number of restrictions imposed on women in Afghanistan.
Originally from Iran, Saman Soltani started in artistic swimming before moving to kayak, as the latter had more opportunities for women in her home country. After winning silver at the Asian Championships, her life changed completely when she claimed asylum in Austria. Soltani resettled in Austria and started practising under the Austrian Canoe Federation. She has Olympic gold in her sights and will be marching for the Refugee Olympic Team.
A Syrian refugee, Mohammad Amin Alsalami, has overcome incredible obstacles in his life. He finished first in the triple jump and long jump in local tournaments in school. He had to leave his own country due to the eruption of the civil conflict, consequently taking refuge in Turkey. The jumper even had to cross a sea to Greece before finally making it to Berlin in 2015. He used athletics to cope with his problems and eventually won the silver medal in the 2014 Asian Championship.
A 29-year-old Iranian wrestler fled Iran in October 2020 over fears for his safety. With only the clothes on his back, Iman Mahdavi embarked on a dangerous journey by foot from Iran to Turkey. And then by air to Italy, where he asked for asylum. Thanks to a friend on social media, Mahdavi was able to get in touch with a gym and fit well into the wrestling circle in Milan. He has won seven junior national titles back home and collected more than 50 medals.
