The Power of Hope: A Look at the Refugee Team Competing in the Upcoming Paris Olympics”.
In the upcoming Paris Olympics, a team of 36 refugees will be competing under their own flag. The team was selected from over 70 scholarships and will feature athletes from 11 countries participating in 12 different sports. The team’s emblem, featuring a heart surrounded by arrows, symbolizes how lost refugees can find their way back.
The chef de mission of the team, Masomah Ali Zada of Afghanistan, spoke about the significance of having their own emblem, creating a sense of belonging and representing the millions of individuals who share their experiences. The team aims to stand proudly for these individuals at the upcoming Olympics, starting on July 24th.
A total of 23 men and 13 women will be competing in various sports including athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoeing, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling. Boxer Cindy Ngamba and Ethiopian runner Farida Abaroge are among the women participating in the team while Iranian taekwondo athlete Kasra Mehdipournejad and Venezuelan shooter Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves are among the male athletes.
The Refugee Team was first established by the IOC for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro to allow athletes who have been forced to leave their home countries to continue competing. In Rio there were 10 athletes representing the team with Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini being the first to compete. In Tokyo Olympics grew to 29 athletes competing across 12 sports.
