THE INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday unveiled its largest-ever refugee Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with 36 athletes from 11 different countries. Athletes from countries including Syria, Sudan, Iran and Afghanistan will compete in 12 sports in Paris, marking the third time such a team has been formed for the Summer Olympics.
“By participating in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential for resilience and excellence,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “This will send a message of hope to more than 100 million displaced people around the world.” The refugee team will compete under its own banner for the first time.
The text continues below the ad
A huge wave of refugees
The IOC unveiled its first refugee team for the 2016 Rio Olympics with 10 athletes to raise awareness of the problem as hundreds of thousands of people arrive in Europe from the Middle East and elsewhere fleeing conflict and poverty.
The national team competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was already almost three times the size of the inaugural team at the Rio Games, with a total of 29 athletes competing in 12 sports.
The announcement of the refugee team for the Paris Olympics comes shortly after Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, who ran as a refugee 1500m athlete at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance.
Do you know something more about the topic or want to report an error in the text?
