The Paris Olympics will see the return of the Refugee Team, composed of 36 athletes from 11 countries competing in 12 different sports. Selected from over 70 scholarships, these athletes will not be competing under the Olympic flag but instead under their own emblem featuring a heart surrounded by arrows, symbolizing their journey back to safety. The team, known as EOR or Équipe Olympique des Réfugiés, will be led by Masomah Ali Zada of Afghanistan as chef de mission.
Zada expressed the importance of having their own emblem and representing the over 100 million individuals who share their experiences. The team aims to stand proudly for these individuals at the upcoming Olympics, starting on July 24th. Among the women participating in the team are boxer Cindy Ngamba and Ethiopian runner Farida Abaroge, while Iranian taekwondo athlete Kasra Mehdipournejad and Venezuelan shooter Edilio Francisco Centeno Nieves are among the male athletes.
Mehdipournejad expressed his excitement at seeing his Olympic dream come true, while a third runner on the team was recently suspended for a positive doping test. The Refugee Team was first established by the IOC for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew to include 29 athletes competing across 12 sports in Tokyo’s 2020 Games. In Rio, Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini was among those who represented the team, making history as she became the first refugee to compete in swimming at an Olympic Games.
