Jun 14, 2021 - Sports

Olympic Committee selects 29-member refugee team

Kendall Baker

Kimia Alizadeh after winning bronze in Rio. Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

The refugee team for the Tokyo Olympics will feature 29 athletes — up from the 10 who competed on the inaugural team at the 2016 Rio Games.

Details: The IOC selected the team from a pool of 56 athletes, all of whom received scholarships to train after fleeing their home countries.

The 29 athletes originally hail from 11 countries: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Congo, Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.

They will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, taekwondo, weightlifting and wrestling.

Meet some Olympians:

Kimia Alizadeh became the first Iranian woman to win a medal in 2016 (bronze in taekwondo) before fleeing to Germany last year.
Masomah Alizada (cyclist) fled to France from her native Afghanistan after she was threatened by the Taliban.
Yusra Mardini (swimmer) fled Syria in 2015 due to the Syrian Civil War and now resides in Germany. "Sport was our way out. [It] gave us hope to build out new lives," she said.
James Nyang Chiengjiek (runner) fled South Sudan at age 13 to avoid being kidnapped by rebels who were forcibly recruiting child soldiers. He now resides in Kenya.

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Olympic Committee selects 29-member refugee team

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